Roses and Baby's Breath
by JadedPhoenixBurning
Summary: In just one year, both of the Duke Boys in the household have gotten married and moved out and Luke even has a little girl of his own. Now Daisy is the last little bird left in Jesse's nest. As the men learn how to both become husbands and fathers, Daisy is ready to take flight on her own. Story 4 of the series.
1. Chapter 1

**Roses and Baby's Breath**

**Chapter 1: **  
><em>Disclaimer: Originally, this story was titled "A Bouquet for Daisy" and was co-written with DixieDavenport but after the dissolution of our partnership I have edited the story on my own. Some of the elements that she put in place are still here while others are not. I have taken scenes out that I felt were not needed and have added where I felt scenes were lacking. Still, much of the initial basic plot elements were devised along with her either through writing together or chatting. So I cannot take complete credit for the whole story but I have decided to try to take much of the story into a different direction. In fact, since so many were against Darcy, I MAY throw in a monkey wrench into that whole scenario. You'll have to read to find out just what it will be.<em>

_Anyway, please let me know what you think and suggestions are always welcomed._

For years, Jefferson Davis Hogg had tried to cash in on all of the benefits that accompany all of the racers each time that his county hosted a race during the season. Finally, Boss has found a means to collect on the monetary perks that come with them during the off season as well. After convincing the racing commission of the need for one, J.D. Hogg was given the task of organizing an end of the year party. It was now the thirteenth of December and tomorrow night's party would be the first of the local Christmas parties.

Boss was so desperate to both make a good first impression on the commission and for the racers to bring in a fresh bit of revenue, he'd done the unthinkable; he'd asked the Dukes for some suggestions on how to make the party one that would entice some of the racers to spend some extra time in his county. One product of those suggestions ended up being a karaoke machine. Jebb and Kira had told Boss some of the times that they'd had with their friends at Karaoke Bars.

Enjoying the new machine in the Boar's Nest, the Dukes were laughing as some of their friends tried their hands at singing along. Brody was up on stage along with Bo and Luke as they did a couple of numbers together. Jo laughed at the men as she walked over to where Daisy was cleaning a table up.

"Hey, Daisy. I've wanted to talk to you. I haven't seen you and Darcy out together in a while. Is everything alright between you two?"

"Oh sure, honey. Everything's fine. At least I think everything is alright. He's just been out of town a lot lately. He's in Florida right now in the middle of some sort of extra training. I just wished that I knew why he's suddenly decided to take on extra flights at the airport. Between his usual flights and his training, I've barely seen him over the last few weeks." Daisy couldn't help the slight pout in her voice. She turned back to the bar and got another tray of beers along with a soda for Kim since she had an extremely low tolerance for alcohol to take back to her cousins' table as they left the stage.

Eying the door, she knew that those who hadn't already arrived should soon. Luke and Jo, along with Bo and Kim, got to the bar well over an hour ago. Jebb would arrive soon since Jesse had already agreed to watch the boys for him. Plus, Kira would be in later as well. She'd called and said that she was getting a late start back from Atlanta this week.

She'd been staying in the big city during the week since she was helping an old friend and business partner of Ben Kyle's try some cases. Kira would be in Hazzard from Friday night until supper on Sunday then arrive in Atlanta late every Sunday night and would continue to do so for the next month and a half.

"Oh come on, I think you should get up there and try a song. It's not like you can't sing," Bo teased his new wife of two full weeks. They were married on Thanksgiving Day of all days. That had caused more than just a few hearts to be broken in Hazzard and the surrounding counties. He knew that Kim could sing, she just didn't like to have folks hear her. She'd sing along with the hymns in church but that was the extent of it for her, though he had caught her singing along with the radio when she was cooking for the two of them and when she was in the shower.

"It's not gonna happen, Bo. You get to be the show off in this relationship," Kim replied as she grabbed her soda.

"Maybe once Kira gets here we can convince her to get all of the women up on stage together," Luke suggested. "Kira's used to the whole karaoke thing."

"She'll be here in about ten with Jebb," Bo said casually. He'd checked in with his sister by way of his unusual link that he had with his twin just a few minutes prior since he was starting to worry about the fact that she hadn't shown up yet. "I wonder how many of her and Jebb's friends are going to show up for the party tomorrow night."

"This bein' the first time that they're havin' a party in the off season? Not to mention it being so close to Christmas, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot don't show up this time around," Luke said as he took a sip of his beer.

"Better not let Boss hear ya say that," Daisy said as she picked the empty glasses up off of the table. "He's hopin' for a big turnout. A lot of folks are already here in town so it shouldn't be that bad of a party."

Sure enough, the bar was filled with various racers that were drinking down Boss's watered down beer and were having a good time. Bo didn't see any of Jebb or Kira's friends in the group of strangers though. There were, however, a few that Bo and Luke knew who came over and talked to them and congratulated Bo and Kim on their recent marriage.

Bo and Luke were both practically legends among the women in the area. After being the most sought after bachelors of the county for years, both were currently married off as well as their cousin Jebb. Now, half of the legendary Dukes were off of the marriage market and the ones who were still single rarely came to Hazzard. Still, there were always a few women that just refused to believe that the married men could possibly be happy about their marital status. Though most of those women knew better than to do or say anything in front of the Duke Wives. One of those women who had yet to learn was Kathy Griffith. She had been upset when Bo passed her over for the once mousey brunette doctor that he married. She and Ernie Leadbetter showed up together at the bar right after Jebb and Kira finally made it to the Boar's Nest. Jebb went ahead pulled up a couple of chairs and he and Kira sat down to join the others.

Jebb slipped an arm through Kira's and held her hand while he waited for Daisy to swing by to get their orders. He'd missed her while she was gone. The weekends weren't long enough to spend time together. She had only been going to Atlanta for a mere two weeks and Jebb was already tired of being alone during the week. Once they were settled in their seats, the two couples began to chat about idle stuff while Luke and Jo were dancing on the floor. Kira asked how things were going at the clinic and hospital since she'd had a busy day at court and wanted a change in pace for the night.

"Well, it's easy to see that the flu season has started in Hazzard. And everyone waits until the evening to call for a doctor. I'm just glad that I have the early shift at the hospital tomorrow instead of the night shift. Most folks will try to tough it out with their symptoms until it gets later in the day. The waiting room will get flooded tomorrow night by the time supper comes around. This wouldn't happen if more folks would just take the flu shot," Kim said as she finished her soda.

"Good luck getting Bo to take a flu shot. I think he'd stand in front of stampeding wild boars before he'd voluntarily let someone stick him," Jebb chuckled.

"At least I won't have to wait around long for a house call from my favorite doctor," Bo smirked.

"He'll probably be just as bad of a patient as he always has been though," Jebb joked. "He was such a baby anytime he got sick. I remember Lavinia used to have to hide his medicine in his food."

Kira laughed at the description of her brother when they were younger. Yes, she could see where Bo might have been a pain when he was young and sick.

"I wasn't that bad, Jebb. Besides, Lavinia wasn't the only one who had to hide medicine for a Duke Boy," Bo threw back. They continued to talk back and forth, just kicking back enjoying their time together. It was only when two distinctive voices were heard from over at the next table that the fun stopped.

Ernie and Kathy were exchanging various rumors that they'd heard from around town about the reasons behind the sudden marriage of the latest Duke Boy. The fact that they had been responsible for most of those stories hadn't stopped them from repeating them as truth. Kim held a hand to Bo's arm to try to keep him from jumping up to defend both hers and his reputation. The last thing she wanted was to kick off the weekend by bailing her new husband out of the local jail.

Kira had felt Jebb stiffen up beside her when Ernie started to add a few comments about their marriage as well even though they'll be married for three years come Christmas. Knowing that things were bound to escalate fast, she wrapped a leg around one of her husband's to keep him from being able to easily jump up in anger. The moment that he tried, Jebb would end up stumbling with his leg tangled up with his wife's.

"Bo, let it go. He's tryin' to bait you," Kira told her twin, though the warning was just as much for her own husband as it was for Bo.

Across the room, Luke and Jo were getting ready to head back to the table when he saw that it looked like his cousins had acquired some unwanted guests. He couldn't tell what was being said but he did see that his younger cousin looked like he was trying to keep control of his temper.

"We'd better go see what's goin' on," Luke muttered to his wife.

Unfortunately, he never made it to the table before Bo jumped up and tackled Ernie. Luke raced to help his cousin and before he even knew it, fists were flying and elbows were being rammed into anything they could come in contact with. Jebb had tried to join in but had ended up on the floor when he'd jumped up to help his cousin. It was only when Rosco did his usual shooting out the chandelier that the Duke Boys pulled back.

Kira hadn't missed the dirty look that she was getting from him for holding him back from joining the fight. Kira'd had a hard enough day today, only to have to make the long drive in from Atlanta to Hazzard to take the time to explain her actions to him right now. He'll just have to stay mad at her.

"Alright, you Dukes. Now that's enough," Rosco hollered above the noise of the bar. "You three are under arrest." Rosco indicated to the three men that had been in the middle of a tussle when he'd come out of Boss's office.

"Rosco, you can't arrest us. You don't even know what was goin' on out here," Bo shouted at the man. His blood was still boiling and now he could see that Kathy was talking to his wife and whatever she was saying seemed to have her upset even more.

"Well, now, we'll sort it all out downtown," Rosco said as he put his cuffs on Bo and Luke, connecting them at the wrists. "Enos, you cuff Leadbetter and get him to the jail, too," Rosco ordered his deputy.

"Yes sir, Sheriff." Enos was glad that he'd been given the job of arresting Ernie. He'd hate it if he had to be the one to lock up Daisy's cousins again. He went ahead and took Ernie on out while the Duke Wives were left behind as they watched Rosco escorting their husbands out.

"Jo, you go on home and take care of Faith. We'll see if we can bail the fellas on out," Jebb said. If he wasn't allowed to help with the fight earlier, at least he could try to get them out of jail. "Unfortunately, it looks like they'll be Rosco's guests at the Iron Bar Hotel tonight."

"You really think so?" Kim asked in concern.

"I'm 'fraid so. I doubt Rosco will even try to get them arraigned tonight," Jebb said as he steered his cousins' wives toward the door. Meanwhile, Daisy pulled Kira aside to find out what had happened since she was on a bathroom break when the boys were out here duking it out with Ernie.

"Ernie provoked Bo into slugging him. Then Luke got in on it."

"Why's Jebb lookin' like he's mad at you then?" Daisy asked her cousin as she pulled Kira aside as Jebb and Kim spoke. She'd rarely seen them two angry with one another. This was definitely rare.

"He's just mad that I kept him from throwin' a few punches, too."

"So his pride's wounded just because he wanted to play, too." Daisy giggled a bit. "He'll get over it."

"If not, this'll be some weekend home. I better go and see to the fellas though," Kira said as she followed Jebb out the door. She climbed in beside of her husband in their car and barely got the door closed before Jebb punched it and caused the Charger to lurch forward.

~01~

Once at the courthouse, Rosco promptly locked Bo in one cell downstairs and Luke in the other. Luke was grateful that Enos had the good sense to put Ernie upstairs. Finally alone, Luke asked the obvious question that had been on his mind from the moment that he first rushed to his cousin's side.

"Ok. It looks like we get to spend the night in here. Care to tell me why?" He couldn't hide his irritation with Bo.

Bo rolled his eyes. Luke had been trading skin with Ernie since they were both in grade school. Why was his cousin so mad just because he'd gotten into it with Luke's old rival tonight?

"You know Ernie as well as I do. What do you think happened tonight?" Bo saw the look in his cousin's face and saw that he wasn't going to spend the night in the neighboring jail cell without more of an explanation than that. Puffing out a breath, Bo continued. "I wasn't just going to sit there and let him get away with talkin' about the women like he was. He was gettin' Kim upset and eventually I just couldn't let him get away with it no more. I'm surprised that Jebb didn't knock him on his ass, too. Ernie even said a few unflattering things about Kira and the kids. Still, someone had to do something so I did."

Luke let out a sigh. Yes he did know how Ernie was, but he thought that they were all getting old enough that they should at some point be able to be in a crowded room together and not end up behind bars. He finally said, "Yeah, I know Ernie. It's just that I ...Never mind."

"Oh, no. Luke, you needled me into talking and it looks like we may have several hours to get caught up. Spill it."

Luke let out a ragged breath as he ran his fingers through his hair before he went ahead and told his cousin what he knew he'd have to eventually. "Well, you may not understand this, but I've really been trying not to end up here since Faith was born. I don't want her to grow up having to see me in here, regardless of the reason for it."

Bo stared at his cousin. He hadn't thought how having a baby could change things for his older cousin. He's always been the more responsible of the two but he'd still been just as ready for a good bar room brawl. Bo always thought that Luke enjoyed them more than he did though Luke would never admit it. Now Luke was admitting that he was trying to pull back from all of that for the sake of his one month old little girl.

Bo tried to find something to say. He hadn't meant to get Luke in trouble tonight. He just hadn't thought much at all when Ernie started going on and on. Fortunately, Bo was saved from having to make an awkward apology when Jebb slung the upstairs door open and stomped down the stairs.

"Whoa! Why the attitude? You're on that side of the bars," Bo said as he looked up to the racket that Jebb was making.

"Your sister is upstairs trying to see if she can get ya'll out of here tonight," Jebb said sullenly. He was still angry with Kira after she'd intentionally kept him from helping his cousins when they needed him. How many times has she been the instigator of a barroom brawl over the years? He couldn't understand why she'd stand in his way tonight from joining the other men. "It looks like you two get to spend the night, though. I told the girls that it would probably be tomorrow before we can spring ya and sent them on home."

"Great," Luke huffed and swore under his breath. Bo wasn't any happier than Luke was about not going home tonight. Bo was about to make a comment of his own when he saw his sister make her way down into the cell area of the jail.

"Sorry, fellas." Kira called as she quietly made her way down the stairs. "Get comfortable. Ya ain't goin' nowhere tonight. Walker is on the circuit this month and he doesn't set bail after dark. I'm surprised that he's even comin' in on a Saturday. We'll have to come back and get you two in the morning."

Luke swore again. "Judge Walker? Great."

Kira nodded. "Sorry, guys. I tried."

"Thanks anyway. So what time in the morning?" Bo asked. If he had to wait he at least wanted to know how long he'd be waiting. He wasn't at all sure how well Kim would like staying at the cabin alone. It would be the first time she had been alone all night since she had been attacked by her ex-husband Ted Wright; an attack that had nearly killed her.

"We'll be back before eight in the morning. Any other Judge and you would be here at least until nine-thirty or ten. The thing is, Walker will expect you two back in here the same time Monday morning. The good news is that if you plead guilty, you might be able to get out from under this and be home before Christmas."

"Plead guilty? You have to be kidding," Bo said. He felt fully justified in knocking Ernie down a couple of notches. "Why should I have to plead guilty?"

"Because, Bo, legally you are guilty. You take your lumps and it will all go away," Kira said as she bore a hole in her brother.

"Kira, you and Jebb heard him."

"Yes. And I told you that he was baiting you," Kira responded to her brother.

"Can't we just say that he started it?" Bo asked. Come on, what good is having a lawyer in the family if she couldn't get you out of an assault charge?

"Bo, you threw the first punch. Dozens of people saw it. That's all that Walker is goin' to care about. Not to mention that you and Luke ended up goin' two on one with Ernie before it was all said and done. So no, I can't just say that Ernie started it."

Behind Kira, Jebb was working his jaw. He was figuring the same as Bo. Kira should be able to do something about this. This is her family after all.

"Well that's just great," Bo said out-loud as all of the men were pretty much in agreement.

"Bo, listen to me. The best thing to do is to just plead guilty so the charges can be down-graded from aggravated assault to simple assault. If you go in there like you are now, Walker just might give ya a year for spite." Kira watched her brother's face and saw that he was listening to her about as well as if she was speaking a foreign language. "Fine. Have it your way."

Kira threw her hands up and headed back upstairs. She'll try talking to the guys later. Tonight she wasn't getting anywhere.

Jebb's jaw dropped as he saw his wife give up and leave. Telling the other men that he'd see them in the morning, he headed up after Kira. He had a few things that he needed to say to her about all of this. First the bar and now this? It all has to stop.

Bo turned to Luke, "Can you believe that? She actually wants us to plead guilty."

"It might not be such a bad idea, Bo," Luke said. He didn't like it, but Kira was right; the facts were the facts. They couldn't change them now.

Bo couldn't believe what he was hearing! "Luke! Come on, you can't be serious."

Luke looked Bo in the eyes, "I am serious, Bo. This isn't about swallowing your pride. For me, it's about spending the holidays at home with my wife and daughter, not locked in a cell with you. Its time to grow up."

Bo still couldn't believe that Luke was serious about pleading guilty but didn't want to continue the debate in front of Rosco as he was just coming back downstairs. It was going to be a long night. Bo just couldn't help worrying how Kim would handle spending the night out in the cabin alone. Bo could mentally kick himself for jumping into the fight with Ernie, but he still couldn't have just satback after that either.

Luke hadn't been in front of Judge Walker before but he knew the man's reputation. It was now nearing midnight on December thirteenth. According to Kira they would see the judge on December sixteenth. Knowing that they could expect a minimum of two weeks in jail which would put them at missing Christmas with the family and not going back home until about New Year's Eve at the earliest. Maybe she could ask for a delay until after the holidays before going to court on these charges. Luke frowned as another thought just crossed his mind.

"Say, Bo; I know you didn't really like what Kira had to say but-"

"Can you blame me for not agreeing with her? She wants us to plead guilty when I didn't even start the fight."

Luke held up his hand, "That's not the point. Did you notice anything about her and Jebb?"

"Like what?"

"They both talked to us, but didn't say a word to each other. There was something going on with them," Luke said.

"Sure they did. There ain't nothing wrong with them two. I ain't seen them fight in three years. Now ain't no different."

"Oh yeh? What did they say?" Luke challenged.

"What?"

"You said that you heard them talkin' to one another, what'd they say?" Luke asked as he slipped his arms through the bars that connected their cells and leaned on his arms.

"Well, Jebb was here talkin' to us, Kira came down, then she...Well he...You know, Jebb did look like he was mad at her."

Bo scrunched his face. Could it be that all of the recent time apart was taking its toll on their marriage? He tried to call out to his sister but he hit a brick wall. He guessed she'd said all she planned to for the night. He collapsed on the bunk in his cell and stared out of the window and prayed that Kim would be alright by herself tonight. Hopefully, this will be their only night apart.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: **

* * *

><p>Kira waited until after they'd gone in to see if they could get the other Dukes out of jail for the night before she couldn't hold her tongue any longer. Shifting in her seat, Kira confronted her husband about the cold shoulder that she was getting from him as they neared their home.<p>

"You shouldn't have kept me from helpin' Bo. Ernie deserved every bit of what he got and more. If you hadn't-"

"If I hadn't kept you from joining in the fight, you'd be sittin' in that jail cell right alongside Bo and Luke," Kira shouted back at Jebb as the Stonewall Jackson careened down the back country roads.

"Dukes don't abandon other Dukes," Jebb said through gritted teeth.

"No one has been abandoned. I tried to warn Bo that he was bein' baited. He chose to slug Ernie anyway," Kira replied rather loudly.

"It still don't feel right to know that they are spendin' the night in jail and we're goin' home," Jebb said as he pulled up in their own driveway.

"Then go back and ask Rosco to lock ya up, too!"

Kira got out of the car and headed inside. She went in through the front door and stomped on up the stairs without stopping to say anything to Jesse who was drinking coffee in the kitchen. When Jebb came in, Jesse got on up and stood in the doorway to wait for him to put his coat up.

"Daisy called me and Jo came by to get Faith. Were you able to get them boys out tonight?" Jesse asked then sipped his coffee. For the last month, ever since a tornado ripped through Hazzard in the first part of November, he'd been staying with Jebb and Kira until the family farmhouse could be rebuilt.

"No sir. They won't be arraigned until tomorrow. First thing at eight o'clock," Jebb explained.

"Alright. I'll go and get them boys in the mornin'. Now, what is up with you and Kira? She just stomped on upstairs and didn't even stop to talk on her way up," Jesse said.

"We just had a little fight about what happened at the Boar's Nest, is all. When things went down in the bar, she tripped me up and made it where I couldn't help Bo and Luke," Jebb complained.

"So basically, she kept ya from actin' a fool and gettin' arrested along with the others?" Jesse asked.

"Uh, well, I guess you could put it that way," Jebb said. Somehow, having Jesse put it that way was a bit different than when Kira had pretty much said the same thing.

"I see," Jesse answered simply.

"Uncle Jesse, it's just that I felt like I should have been there to help them. I should have been fightin' right alongside them, not-" Jebb was cut off by Jesse.

"So, in other words, you'd rather be sittin' in a jail cell tonight rather than spendin' time with your wife that you only get to see for about forty-eight hours a week."

"That ain't it." Jebb still refused to admit his uncle and wife were right.

"Uh-huh. You sure Kira knows that?" Jesse asked before heading back into the kitchen to straighten it up before he headed off to the room that had been his for the last month.

Jebb watched his uncle walk away and was amazed at how his uncle could still make him feel like he knew the same about life as he did when he was a kid. Sighing, Jebb figured that he'd better head up and see if he could smooth things over with Kira. As Jesse had pointed out, he only got to see Kira two days a week right now. He didn't want to spend the weekend fighting with her.

When he got upstairs he saw that Kira had already changed and climbed into bed. Jebb stripped out of his clothes and slipped in behind his wife. She had her back turned to him so he tried to pull her back up against him. Jebb figured that Kira must be pretty mad at him. She wouldn't turn around or even relax up against him. He rested a hand on Kira's hip and pulled her towards him and rolled her onto her back. It was only then that Jebb realized that Kira was already fast asleep.

Rolling his eyes, Jebb fell back against his pillow. He could tell that this was going to be a long weekend.

~01~

Kim settled on the couch as she waited for Jo to return from putting Faith down for the night. She had tried going home but every time she heard a noise outside she instinctively believed that her ex-husband was in every shadow. Being out in the county instead of the city hadn't been that bad when Bo was in the house but without him at home it was a bit unnerving to be by herself. Every sound that she heard was turned into Ted stalking her once more.

He'd been bound and determined to kill her once and for all. In fact, he'd nearly succeeded just this past spring. She'd gone out to stay with the Dukes after he'd found her in town for their wedding anniversary. His present for her were a few broken ribs and several bruises. Then he'd jumped bail and hunted her down out on the farm. Ted had plunged a knife right in the middle of her chest. She'd spent time in the hospital but the whole ordeal had helped to push her and Bo together. After that, she'd moved in with her Uncle Irving Appleby and had spent as much of her free time as she could with Bo. She'd begun to feel so safe around him, which hadn't come easy considering her last relationship. But Bo being himself had torn down all of her walls and made himself right at home in her heart.

"Are you okay now?" Jo asked as she came down the stairs.

"Yeh, fine. I guess it's really silly. I just couldn't stay home tonight," Kim replied.

Jo tried to ease her friend's mind. "After what you've been through, believe me, it's not silly. You're more than welcomed to stay the night. You know that you are welcomed anytime."

"Thanks. I guess Daisy should be home soon then. Or is she staying over at Darcy's tonight?"

"I think she'd rather be staying with Darcy, but he's not home so she'll be home right after the bar closes," Jo commented before asking, "So, what happened out there at the bar? What got Bo so riled up?"

"Ernie and Kathy both came over and sat down at the next table over and started throwing some insults. He knows the right buttons to push to get any of the guys riled. And you know Bo well enough by now to know that he doesn't exactly know when to walk away from a fight. Kira tried to warn him that he was being baited but..." Kim shrugged.

Nodding, Jo figured that she might as well as change the subject so that she and Kim could relax so she made herself comfortable and leaned in toward Kim and smiled. "We'll, we really haven't had a lot of time to chat since the wedding but you have got to tell me. How was the honeymoon?" Jo cornered Kim.

"Well, it was nearly cut short, thanks to Luke," Kim said as she remembered how Luke had spiked the moonshine with saltpeter.

"Luke?" Jo said about to ask what her husband had to do with Kim and Bo's honeymoon.

"Uh-huh. It seems that Luke decided that he had a little bit of revenge that he wanted to take out on some of the men. So he put saltpeter in the 'shine," Kim explained.

Jo frowned. "Lukas put saltpeter in Bo's 'shine? I've heard of saltpeter when I was in the Marines but it can't actually work. Right?"

"Well, that's what I thought, too," Kim replied with a tone that didn't hide her annoyance.

"Oh no!" Jo was now trying hard not to laugh, "Oh come on, a Duke not really wanting to have sex. I didn't think anything could make that happen."

Kim explained, "Well, now it didn't cause him not to want sex. It doesn't affect the desire, only the ability."

Jo suddenly got a mental picture of what Kim was telling her and began to laugh hysterically. She finally managed to say, "So he couldn't? At all?"

"Well that first night I was so wasted it didn't really matter anyway. I passed out shortly after we got to the hotel," Kim started. "I was completely unaware that there was anything wrong. Too much alcohol in my system I guess. The next morning, Bo could hardly find the words to tell me what had happened. Fortunately for us, I know a lot of medical tricks. He didn't like some of them but considering that the only other option he had was to sit and cross his legs, I finally got him to think outside of the box." Kim smirked as she thought back to Bo's reactions to some of her suggestions. "By the end of the weekend he was starting to get going on his own, though. Good thing, too. A damaged Duke ego is a terrible thing. But you have to admit, doing that to Bo on our honeymoon was hitting just a bit below the belt."

Jo tried not to grin but couldn't hide the fact that she actually found Luke's prank pretty funny. "Yeah, it was, but do you know what Bo, and who knows who else, did to Lukas on our honeymoon?"

"Well, Bo mentioned pulling some pranks on Luke."

"Yeh, well, when we got to the hotel, Lukas reached for his condoms. They were not where he packed them. So he looked closely and found the packs all had holes in the entire box."

Kim knew that Faith had to have been conceived on their honeymoon, "Oh, no. Faith?"

Jo shook her head no. "I don't think so. I'm pretty sure he found them before he used any. Trouble was, there were a couple of times that they... well... weren't exactly nearby." Both women knew very well just how fast a situation could arise to make a full box on a nightstand a little out of the way to retrieve. While Jo was laughing, she suddenly thought of something, "Kim if you wouldn't have known those tricks how long would Bo have been unable to... you know?"

Kim thought a minute, "He was still showing some effects when I got my period on the night of the first. He was fine by the time I was finished with it."

Jo frowned.

"What?" Kim asked.

"I was just thinking back. There were a few days that Luke was really not himself, if you catch my drift."

Kim giggled, "I've heard that the Duke Boys do nearly everything together, but to not do things together on this level," Kim laughed some more. "It serves him right. He got caught in his own trap. None of the other men were able to enjoy themselves, but neither was he. I bet he didn't see that one coming. Just to get back at him, I ought not release you until after Christmas rather than the twenty-third."

"Kim! Who are you trying to punish? Lukas or me?"

Kim laughed as she put her hands up in mock surrender, "Alright, alright. I guess now that the fellas are married, they've thrown everything that they've ever known about birth control out the window."

It was then that Jo realized what Kim had said, "Kim you said none of the other men were able to enjoy themselves. What do you mean by that if Lukas was out to get Bo?"

Kim tried to stop laughing before she continued and swore that Jo nearly rolled her eyes. "Well, just how do you think that Bo found out what Luke had done? Jebb helped him. Jebb cooked the mash and everything to brew the moonshine. Luke just added the saltpeter to the mash. He still had to keep his word to Jesse and the government that he wouldn't make any 'shine, after all. Apparently, Luke and Jebb were supposed to have an older jug that was free from the saltpeter set aside but that jug just so happened to be the one that had been taken to the house for the rest of the family to drink out of the night of the bachelor party. Luke and Jebb were drinking out of the wrong jug!"

"But how did Bo know all of this?" Jo asked.

"Simple, Kira. She wasn't too happy with Jebb when she found out. And on her last weekend before heading out of town, too," Kim said with a slight grin.

"So Jebb was out of action, too?"

"From what I could tell, it wasn't just our guys but everyone who was at the bachelor party and wedding, too. If they drank more than a glass or two of 'shine," Kim said.

"Oh Lord! That was an awful lot of men between the two events," Jo said as she looked up at the clock. It was getting late. She had hoped that Lukas would be home by now. Just then the phone ran and nearly scared both women out of their skin.

Answering the phone, Jo heard Jesse's voice on the other end of the line explaining that the men wouldn't be home tonight. _"I'm sorry, darlin'. There just ain't nothing else to be done about it. I'll go to the courthouse first thing in the morning to get them boys on out. You just go ahead and take care of Faith and not worry none. Now, I'm goin' to go ahead and call Kim, too, so she won't go to worryin' about Bo overnight."_

"Uncle Jesse, Kim's here with me. I'll just go ahead and let her know. Thanks for letting us know. I'll see you in the morning," Jo replied grimly**.**

_"Goodnight."_

"Well, I guess there's nothing left to do but head on off to bed," Jo said knowing that she only had a small window before Faith would need to be fed and changed again. She could only hope that maybe Faith would wake up just as Daisy walked past her room on the way to the brunette's room. Then maybe Daisy would take care of her for her.

Getting on up, Kim figured that she'd better get some sleep. "Alright. I have to be at the hospital early anyway. Night, Jo."

The women then went on up the stairs and went off to restless sleeps without their husbands.

~01~

The next morning after breakfast, Jesse had the feeling of déjà vu. He'd gone to town to get Bo and Luke out of jail more times than he cared to remember. One of these days, those boys were going to have to learn how to settle their differences with other folks without using their fists. Bo has been married for only two weeks and was already locked up while Luke had a one month old baby girl at home. He didn't know why he assumed that getting married would have calmed any of his boys down. Jebb's been married for almost three years and he'd gotten mad because he didn't get arrested right alongside his cousins.

Jesse waited for the boys to be brought up before the judge once again to have bond set. Once they were in the courtroom, Judge Walker set bond for each of them at one hundred dollars and advised them to not be late for court Monday at eight o'clock sharp. Jesse posted the bond for the boys. On the way home they tried to justify their latest arrest but Jesse cut them off.

"I've already heard enough from the others. Let's just get on out to the farm. There are still a lot of things that need to be taken care of today. Especially if you two still plan to go and play with all of your racin' buddies tonight at the banquet," Jesse huffed.

Luke and Bo exchanged looks and smirked at one another. At least Jesse hadn't lectured them. He must figure that their wives would take care of that now that they were married. Luke just hoped that his uncle would be wrong on that assumption as Jesse pulled up at Luke's farmhouse.

Luke slowly made his way up the porch steps. He gave Jesse and Bo time to get out of the yard before he quietly opened the door just in case his roof blew off as he entered the house.

As he walked into the kitchen he was met by Daisy. Quietly he said, "Where's Jo?"

"She's upstairs," Daisy said.

Luke rubbed the back of his neck where it had a crick in it. "How dead am I?"

Daisy shrugged, "They were in bed when I got home."

Luke made his way up the stairs quietly. The door to the bedroom and the nursery were open. He checked the bedroom first. Nothing. Then, he quietly walked into the nursery. Jo looked up from rocking Faith just as he had silently approached the doorway. Luke knew most people would never have heard him, but his wife wasn't most people. She'd had the same training that he had, but she had used it a lot longer than him. Shoot, she grew up a Marine Brat so the military life had been hers right up until she'd gotten caught up in an attack on an Embassy that she'd been stationed at. It was only then that she was discharged from the Marines and she'd gotten her first taste of civilian life.

"Jo, look ... I'm-" Luke started.

"Sorry. Yeh I know that you are. And it won't happen again; that is until the next time," Jo said.

He had to grin. She was right. He couldn't promise with any certainty that this wouldn't happen again. Not here in Hazzard. "Well how about I promise that I'll try to make sure that the next time isn't any time soon?"

Jo smiled as she stood up and handed Faith to her husband who could already smell an unpleasant aroma wafting up from his baby girl. "We'll see how long you can keep that promise. But for right now, you're on diaper duty. I'm going to take shower."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

At the end of her shift, Daisy slipped into the ladies room and changed into a skirt and blouse for the night. She had wanted to wear something special for Darcy. She'd not gotten to see him much in the last couple of weeks so she wanted to make the most of the time that they had together. Tonight would be the first time that she has gotten to spend a whole night with her boyfriend since Thanksgiving. The bad thing was, she suspected that now that Darcy had finished his training, their time would only lessen. Daisy wondered if there was anything that she could do to convince Darcy that he didn't need to take on any extra work; that he should set aside more time for her.

Stepping back out into the bar, Daisy looked around to see if Darcy had arrived yet. Grinning widely, she hurried over where the tall, dark and handsome pilot was sitting in the back corner booth.

"I'm so glad you came," Daisy said as she hugged Darcy after he stood up to greet her.

"I couldn't exactly refuse to do anything that would let me spend some extra time with you. Now could I?" Darcy let Daisy in on the inside of the booth then slid in beside her. Daisy made sure that she stayed as close to Darcy as she could. She wanted to send clear messages to him of what she wanted to do later tonight.

Of her cousins, Jebb and Kira were the first to show up. Once they had arrived at the bar, they both split up in separate directions as they each both greeted various friends; an action that wasn't missed by Daisy. Kira headed to the bar where some of her racing friends were seated while Jebb took his own drink and headed off to the other end of the bar to hang out with some of his friends that he rarely gets to see anymore.

By the time Bo and Kim showed up to the Boar's Nest the beer had flowed pretty heavily and the party goers were watching some videos that Cale Yarborough had been showing. The videos were then followed by Boss taking over the stage and welcoming the racers to the first annual end of the year holiday party.

As the master of ceremony, Boss Hogg also had the job of recognizing the top racers in each division. Boss paused and pulled his cheat sheet out of his pocket since he didn't personally know everyone who was there. When he got to congratulating the Dukes on a good year of racing, he was choking on it. When he closed his speech J.D. announced that the bar would remain open an extra hour and that for the next hour he would give a discount on the drinks. What he didn't announce though was that he was raising the prices on the food.

The crowd gave the fat man a cheer and a round of applause both because he was getting off the mic and that the normal closing time had been waved. The race officials from each racing division with the exception of NASCAR each took a few moments to announce the top points leaders in each class and ask them all up for a picture.

Back at the table, Bo hadn't expected for anyone as important as Cale to show up at the small gettogether in Hazzard. He wasn't able to stay long but had made a point to speak with the Duke Boys and congratulate them on their marriages. Just after he left, a drunken Blake stood up and announced to the room that the professional driver hadn't been the only one to bring along some videos.

"I just have to prove why those of us who race in Motocross know how to have more fun; better than those of you folks that have to have four wheels under you when you race." Blake held up a tape and hollered out, "I took the liberty of putting various dares that our crew has done over the years onto a tape. Who wants to watch a decade's worth of fun?" Blake was spurred by some of the laughter and clapping of his fellow bikers.

On that tape, Bo was able to see Jebb's initiation into the group that he raced and partied with. Somehow, the whole crew had gotten into the Falcon's football stadium. The camera caught Jebb with his bike parked all the way up in the nose-bleed section in a close up before panning out to capture the sight of Jebb climbing onto his bike and then riding down the stairs all the way down toward the bottom of the stadium seats. He then jumped the bike the last few rows and rode across the fifty-yard line.

"You know the hardest part of that was gettin' the bike up there," Jebb laughed. Considering he was barely seventeen when he and his buddies broke into the stadium for that dare, Jebb thought that it had been pretty impressive.

As the tape continued, every single dare seemed to get just a bit closer to the edge than the last one as the tape continued. Bo could tell that Jebb and his friends had really started to rack their brains on the various dares and initiations as time went on. Eventually, what seemed to be a street race like one that Jebb would have had with his friends when he was younger filled the screen.

Seeing a yellow motor cycle that resembled Jebb's first bike, Bo followed it as it raced another bike. Someone that he couldn't place was giving a rundown of the race. In just a few moments the race was over and sure enough, his cousin had been the one that had been on the bike that crossed the imaginary finished line first. On the screen, Jebb's friends whooped and hollered in response as he was surrounded while the other rider removed their helmet. Bo was surprised to see that the other racer had been his sister.

Next, he heard Jebb call Kira out on some sort of wager. _"Alright. I won. Now you have to pay up."_

_"You are such a perv, Duke." Kira gave Jebb a dirty look._

_"You should have thought about that before you agreed to the bet. All of us have lost this bet at least once. You'll learn." Jebb chuckled. Turning toward to the camera, Jebb spoke to his invisible friend behind the camera. "I think it's time to move this party so Kira's initiation into our little troop can be completed. What do ya say? Where should we head, now?"_

_"Let's see..." A woman behind the camera could be heard. "I think my initiation was over at-"_

_"Forget it. If I'm going to do this, I'll choose where we're going," Kira said as she walked out of the frame._

_"Alright, everyone. It's Kyle's turn to be in the spot light. Let's pack it up and head on out." _

_The crowd all shouted out again as Jebb motioned for the woman behind the camera to turn it off. When the camera was turned back on, it was clear that the group was in a bar of some kind. It was equally clear, once Jebb began to talk, that this time he was operating the camera. He walked up to where Kira was sitting sullenly at the bar with a drink in her hand. _

_"It's time to pay up, Kyle. No more killing time. Last call is only twenty minutes away. It's now or never."_

_"You seem to be in an awful big hurry for me to do this. Guess you know that you'll never see me do this again, huh, Duke."_

_"That's why I plan to put it on tape. That way I can watch it anytime I want." Jebb could be heard chuckling in the background._

_"Can I at least finish my drink first?" Kira asked as she made a face at Jebb._

_"Nope. No more stalling."_

_"Alright, well, I hate to waste anything so..." On the screen, Kira stepped closer to the camera and Bo could see that Kira was dumping her drink on his cousin. Afterwards, Kira stepped up on her barstool and then climbed up onto the bar._

Around the Boar's Nest, folks began to laugh the moment that Kira gave Jebb a beer bath on the screen. That laughter turned to whooping and hollering as the scene on the television showed Kira performing a striptease. Bo was horrified to see his sister on the T.V. while Jebb was furious that his friend would show his wife stripping on the screen in front of the whole bar.

"Shut it off, Blake!" Jebb scowled at the other man that he'd known since high school. Jebb had forgotten that he wasn't the only one to have a copy of that tape.

Seeing that his friend looked ready to strangle him, Blake fast forwarded the tape and stopped it on one dare in particular on purpose. Since he didn't want anyone to see his wife on the screen, Blake figured that he'd just put Jebb back up on the giant television screen.

"Can anyone who wasn't there for this dare identify our next contestant on _I Dare You_?" Blake hollered out again as the bar erupted in various reactions to the next scene on the screen.

It started off in what appeared to be a parking lot in the middle of the night. Bo couldn't make out most of those that were in the crowd but he did see his sister as she was standing back in the crowd laughing her head off as the other bikers started to move aside. Bo scanned the crowd to see if he could see his cousin with her but couldn't. As the folks on the screen moved aside, Bo was shocked to watch a biker walk up in a black helmet, and nothing else, with the face shield down to hide his identity.

The crowd whooped and hollered. Sending up cat calls as the biker straddled his bike and revved it up as the rest of the bikers bolted for their own bikes. The camera man got into a car and leaned out of the passenger window and zoomed in on the only thing that could identify the biker. A tattoo that Bo couldn't believe Jebb had. Although from what he had heard, Jebb had intended it to just be his name. Kira, though, had paid the artist extra to change it up a bit. Instead of Jebb Stewart Duke, it read _Jebb Sweetness Duke_.

There on the television screen was his brother-in-law/cousin, riding through a town without a stitch of clothes on. When the sound of sirens could be heard in the background along with the sight of blue flashing lights, Bo busted out laughing. There Jebb was, running from the cops naked as a jaybird while racing down the street on his motorcycle. Off to the side of the room, Jebb's face was turning all shades of red as the man who had been filming kept a running commentary as the group of bikers began to split up. It appeared that both Kira and Jebb (along with some of the unnamed bikers) had decided to jump a fence to get away from the police cars that were closing in on them.

When the video showed Jebb landing hard and taking a spill on his bike, nearly every man in the bar crouched forward as if protecting their own crotches and gave out sympathetic groans at the pain that Jebb had obviously been in at the time of the stunt.

"Ow! Now that had to hurt," someone in the bar shouted out.

"It did," Jebb said grimly. Tonight wasn't fun anymore. He began to wonder how he could get Kira to agree to leave this _festive _party early so they could head on home.

~01~

Cooter was driving back to Hazzard after a late night tow from the other side of Iron Mountain. After taking the car in to the garage so that he could start work on it first thing on Monday morning. Once he'd finished he figured that he'd get a quick beer before he headed home. Pulling into the lot, he spied something that he was certain had to be a first. It looked like Jebb and Kira were in the middle of a fight right out in the parking lot.

"If you want to leave, then leave! I ain't stoppin' ya," Kira said as she glared at Jebb.

Cooter took one look at the couple and knew that he'd best make himself scarce so he headed on inside; leaving the married couple to duke it out in the lot without a witness. Once inside, Cooter spotted Daisy so he went over to where she was sitting with Darcy.

"Hey, Daisy, I just saw the strangest thing. Kira and Jebb are out in the parkin' lot screamin' at one another. What gives?" Cooter asked as he slid into the booth of the darkened bar.

"I can't figure it out either, Cooter. They've been at it all weekend as far as I can tell. I noticed that something was off with them two last night."

Across the room, Kira came back into the bar. Alone. Jebb was nowhere to be seen. Kira went over to where some of the other Motocross racers were sitting. "That's odd. You don't think that Jebb actually left Kira here do ya?"

"He couldn't. They can't be that mad at one another." Daisy began to wonder what was happening to her cousins? She'd never known any two people that were so in love. In three years, this had to be the first time she'd ever really saw them mad at one another.

"I think I'll go see if I can figure out what's gotten into them two," Cooter said as he left Daisy and Darcy in their booth. "Hey, darlin'; care for a dance?" Cooter asked Kira as he took her hand.

Not being able to tell the old family friend no, Kira stood up and took his hand. "Why not?"

Walking out onto the dance floor, Cooter went ahead and began to ask just what was on his mind. "You mind me askin' what that scene with Jebb was all about outside? I've heard you two have been at one another's throats a lot lately. That ain't like ya'll."

"I'd rather not talk about it, Cooter," Kira sighed. She knew that she shouldn't have sent Jebb on home but she felt like they really just needed some time apart right now. And odd feeling considering that all they seemed to do lately was spend time apart.

"You sure?" Cooter gave Kira a crooked grin. The kind that he knew disarmed nearly all of his friends.

"We've just been goin' at one another all weekend long ever since I got home from Atlanta. I don't know what's happenin'. I mean, I only get to see Jebb and the boys for two days a week right now and it just seems like we spend the whole time mad at one another." Cooter pulled Kira closer as she spoke so that he was hugging her more than dancing with her on the dance floor.

"Now, darlin', have ya thought that just might be your problem? You two ain't spendin' no time with one another no more. You just got to figure out a way to make some more time for one another."

~01~

Jebb wasn't sure if he should head on home or not; especially since it meant leaving Kira behind. True Bo and Luke were still inside, but they were both busy with their own wives. Jebb sat in the car debating with himself about whether he should go inside and try to talk to Kira again. It just seemed that no matter what they said to one another, they only succeeded in frustrating the other even more. Jebb would definitely say that frustration was at the very core of their problems. Frustration at spending seemingly endless nights apart and trying to cram a week's worth of family time and personal time into just forty-eight hours each week. Considering that their early part of their relationship was built while being a thousand miles apart he would have never thought that being apart by less than two hundred would be so hard on them now.

Getting out of the car, Jebb started to head to the door of the bar only to come face to face with his wife and Cooter. He just stood frozen as Kira looked at him. She had thought that he'd left already.

"Alright you two, both of ya'll need to sit down and talk to one another. Jebb, I's plannin' on drivin' Kira on home but seein' as how you're here, I think it'd be best if ya'll found a nice little spot to work whatever's wrong between you two out. Otherwise, it's bound to get a lot more complicated if ya wait any longer. Now go on. I don't expect to see either one of you in church tomorrow until you're back to being the couple that you've always been," Cooter nudged Kira towards Jebb as he spoke.

"Jesse would love us not showin' up for church," Jebb mumbled.

"Well then that just means that ya'll better get to talkin'." Cooter turned to head back into the bar as he heard singing from inside.

"Oh no! They've gotten the karaoke machine runnin' now." Kira gave a half hearted laugh. "I think we'd better run while we still can. I can hear Daisy and Darcy up on stage, now. No tellin' who's next."

"Come on." Jebb returned a weak smile as he nodded to Cooter who just smiled and tipped his hat as the couple headed back to the Stonewall, the blue Charger that Jebb had bought before the boys were born and had customized it much in the same way that Bo and Luke had done to the General Lee. "Cooter was right. We do need to talk."

~01~

Daisy and Darcy left the bar right in behind her cousins. The whole night that she'd been with Darcy, Daisy had gone over their relationship in her mind. She knew that, at least at one time, Darcy had planned to ask her to marry him. She couldn't understand why he still hadn't yet. Now that both of her cousins were married off, she had begun to feel that it was time that she should get married too. Daisy couldn't wait for her own wedding day.

Once at Darcy's, he showed Daisy all the attention that she'd missed while he'd been gone this week. Daisy was eager for every bit of it too. There was just something about Darcy that she couldn't get enough of. She also loved that fact that Darcy never just rolled over after a session of lovemaking; Darcy would pull her in close to him and hold her as she would fall asleep in his arms. Tonight as Daisy rested her head on his shoulder, she ran her fingers through Darcy's chest hair and couldn't sleep. Finally, Daisy breached the comfortable silence of the bedroom by asking a question that she really wanted to know.

"Darcy, can I ask ya something?"

"Sure ya can, Sugar. What's on your mind?" Darcy brought a hand up to brush some of Daisy's long dark hair out of her blue eyes so he could see them better in the darkened room.

"Do you love me?" Daisy asked even though she was pretty sure she knew the answer to the question.

"You know I do. Always have. I couldn't imagine life without ya in it," Darcy responded as he hugged Daisy just a bit tighter to him as he wondered what had spurred that question on.

"Then why haven't you asked me to marry you yet? I mean, I already know that you bought a ring a long time ago. You just ain't never asked."

_How did Daisy know that he bought her a ring already?_

Sitting up, Darcy ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to clear his mind of the cobwebs that had taken root while he'd been about to fall asleep next to the gorgeous woman that he'd been in love with since high school.

"I guess I've been too afraid to hear the word no to ask."

"What makes you think that I'd say no?"

"To be honest? Enos."

"Enos?" Daisy pulled the sheet up a bit as she sat up and gave Darcy a questioning look. What did Enos have to do with their relationship? "Honey, I don't understand."

"Shortly after I bought that ring, you and he were supposed to get married. If you were ready to wed him, then I just didn't think that you wanted to marry me."

"Darcy, I was going to marry Enos to help keep him out of jail. I didn't know any other way to help him. As long as I was married to him, I couldn't be called to testify against him when those crooks set him up for that bank robbery."

"And once he was free to go? If he hadn't called the weddin' off, would you have gone through with it?" Darcy could see Daisy bristle beside him. For more than three years he's had the same questions running through his mind anytime he had nearly gotten enough nerve to pull the ring that he'd bought her out of its hiding place. "I guess I felt that if you really wanted to get married to me then you wouldn't have even been able think about marrin' someone else."

"I see." Daisy sat stock still for a moment beside Darcy without her face betraying the thoughts or emotions rolling through her. She had wanted to help Enos and had offered to do the only thing that she knew would protect him from going away for something he'd never do if it weren't for the fact that he had been trying to protect her in the first place. How could Darcy really hold that against her?

"Sweetheart, if you are asking me if I want to marry you, there's no doubt whatsoever that I do. I just want to be sure that I'm really the one you want beforehand." Darcy stretched out an arm to pull Daisy closer to him only to have her shrug it off. "Days?"

Daisy moved to the side of the bed and started to hunt for her clothes that were strewn across the floor. "I think I'd better go. I have to be home by morning anyway for church. Otherwise my Uncle Jesse will kill me."

"Daisy, don't be mad."

"Why should I be mad? You just said that you don't believe me when I tell you that I want to get married to you."

"That isn't what I meant. I just told you why I haven't asked you to get married before now. I mean, you still date Enos for God's sake." Darcy was wise enough to not mention any of the other men that he knew that Daisy still dated off and on; particularly when he was out of town. He felt that the doubts about whether or not Daisy was ready to get married were reasonable. Standing up and blocking her way out of the room, he took her hands in his and waited for Daisy to look up at him. "I want to marry you, Days. I just want to make sure that you want to marry me."

Daisy gave a slight nod to which Darcy responded by releasing her hands and let her leave the room unimpeded.

During the whole drive out to Luke's farm Daisy couldn't help but fume as she thought back to Darcy's alluding to the fact that she didn't even know her own heart; much less her own mind. Why couldn't he have just asked her to marry him? Why did he have to question her about how she felt about him or even Enos for that matter? She was ready to be a wife and mother. She had thought that once she let Darcy know that she wanted to get married that it would have been a done deal. Now, she just wasn't sure what would happen.

~01~

Jebb and Kira went on home and climbed the stairs and waved to Jesse as he poked his head out of his room when he heard them come in. Jesse had the bassinet in his room and he'd been able to listen for the twins from there as well since his room was directly under theirs.

Kira and Jebb headed on to their own room on the back side of the house upstairs. They'd started talking some in the car but they still were trying to put aside the fighting from the last twenty-four hours. Jebb went ahead and changed out from his clothes while Kira decided to go and check on the boys before turning in.

After seeing to the boys, Kira went into her and Jebb's bedroom still wondering whether or not she was in for a peaceful night or if she was about to walk into a hornet's nest when she opened the door. What she hadn't expected was for Jebb to shut the door behind her and pull her to him and start to kiss her without saying another word. It was a hot smoldering kiss that told Kira just how much he really had missed his wife. First while she was out of town, then while they'd been fighting when she'd come home after spending her weeks in Atlanta.

Jebb pulled Kira close to him and figured that there were no words that could do more for him than his hands and lips were as he started to guide his wife back toward the bed, spurred on by Kira's response to him as she wrapped her own arms around Jebb. They might not have settled everything between them, but she had missed this intimacy with her husband just as much as he did. Right now, it looked like she was way overdressed considering that Jebb only had on his underwear. Of course Jebb was only too eager to help her peel her sweater off as she fell back onto the bed.

Unfortunately, just as her jeans were unfastened, a cry from downstairs could be heard as Faith woke up in Jesse's room. She was ready for her feeding and let the whole house know. That in turned woke Jay up down the hall. Hearing his son holler out Jebb cursed under his breath.

"I'll get him," Kira groaned.

"Nah. I'll go. I'll be right back."

That right back turned into more than a half hour since once Jay was awake, Mikey woke up too. That meant that Jebb had to convince both of his boys that it was the middle of the night and they both needed to go back to bed instead of play with their toys like they wanted to. Once he finally had the boys back in their crib and asleep, Jebb went back down the hall and hoped to pick things back up with Kira.

No such luck.

While she wasn't quite asleep yet, she wasn't completely awake either. Jebb climbed into bed beside his wife who then moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Jebb didn't know what was worse; sleeping beside his wife who was mad at him or sleeping beside her when he'd rather not be sleeping at all. Resigning himself to an unwanted restful night's sleep, Jebb pulled his wife closer to him and tried to fall off to sleep. All the while consoling himself that they still had one more night before she left for Atlanta thanks to the court hearing on Monday.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:**

The next day during church, Daisy couldn't concentrate on the sermon. She was still upset over Darcy's refusal of her. She couldn't remember the last time he or any man who mattered to her had done that. Why would he doubt her decision to get married? That's all that she's ever really wanted; to be a wife and mother and have a family all of her own.

_"I mean, you still date Enos for God's sake."_

So what if she still would go out with Enos from time to time. She liked knowing that he cared for her so much and she'd always been very fond of him in return. Going out with him was always fun but she'd thought that Darcy understood her better than to consider him a real threat to their relationship. She really didn't think that Darcy had any reason to be worried about him. Yes she had at one time decided to marry Enos but that had been to protect him. She was as close to Enos as she could be to nearly anyone. Why shouldn't she have been willing to do anything that it would take to keep him safe from harm? Cops don't do well in jail and she wasn't about to let him go away for something that hadn't been his fault.

_"I want to marry you, Days. I just want to make sure that you want to marry me."_

Of course she wants to marry Darcy. She just didn't know how to convince him of that.

Letting her eyes wander the sanctuary as her mind continued to focus on her problem. When they fell on Enos, she swore that she'd caught him looking at her. He blushed and quickly looked away but not before Daisy gave him a smile. Every time she found him catching brief glances of her she felt just like she was back in school. She'd admit that she loved the feeling that she always got when he would stumble after she'd cast a look his way or gave him a wink. What woman wouldn't like knowing that a sweet man like Enos was so enamored with her?

All around her, Daisy noticed that the rest of the congregation had bowed their heads in prayer so she supposed that the service was coming to an end. Daisy did her best to pay attention to the last bit of the service and was ready to jump out of the pew the moment that the preacher released everyone to leave.

When the family stood up, Daisy grabbed her purse and caught a glimpse of Kira as she reached out to hold on to the pew in front of her. For just a split second she thought her cousin was going to fall but Kira shook her head and reached for the twins' diaper bag and look toward her husband to see if he'd noticed her brief moment of unbalance. Clearly he hadn't since he was gathering up both of the boys who in only two weeks will be two year olds. But Daisy had. Before leaving the church Kira ducked into the bathroom so her cousin followed her in to check on her.

"Honey, are you alright?"

"Why do you ask?" Kira turned to Daisy just a bit impatient. She really needed to go to the restroom and if she didn't soon she felt like she was going to bust. Her bladder was so full it was painful.

"I saw that just a minute ago. You looked like you were about to take a header in there when you bent down to get the boys' bag. Is something wrong?"

"Oh, that." Kira groaned both with the knowledge that Daisy had seen her during her moment of vertigo and with the fact that if she didn't into the stall fast she was afraid she'd wet herself right then and there. "It's nothing, Days. That happens from time to time if I stand up too fast. Now if you don't mind…" Kira motioned toward the stall as she spoke.

"If you're sure that you're alright." She knew that her cousin still had some holdovers from her pregnancy that had left long-term effects on Kira's health. Many of which still required regular monitoring. Daisy nodded in understanding but made a mental note to keep an eye on her cousin just in case she had more instances of vertigo. If she'd been holding one of the twins she could have dropped them. "I'll go help Jebb put the boys in the car for you then."

"Thanks." Kira jumped into the stall as soon as Daisy left.

In the last week or two she hadn't been able to go more than an hour, two at most, between bathroom breaks. Today she didn't think that the minister was ever going to shut up. If the sermon had lasted another five minutes she was going to have to stand up right in the middle of it. Her days in court were becoming even more miserable since breaks were few and far between. And she was only in the jury selection portion of the trial. She had no idea how she was going to survive the rest of it.

~01~

After lunch, Daisy was doing dishes as the rest of the family sat around the kitchen table while discussing the court date the next morning. Kira was explaining that at the minimum, if the judge decided to lock the fellas up, they would be in jail until just after Christmas. If the judge decided to play hardball they could expect up to a full year. That, of course, was the worst case scenario. Bo was holding out for a simple fine but Luke knew that realistically they both could expect at least a short stay in the local jail.

Hearing a car, Daisy looked out the window and saw Darcy pull up just outside her cousin's farmhouse that she'd been living at for just over a month. Ever since the old family farmhouse had been destroyed by a tornado. Grinning, Daisy just knew that Darcy had come to apologize to her about what he'd said about doubting that she wanted to marry him.

"Ya'll, I'll be right back." Daisy dried her hands, grabbed her coat and was out of the back door before anyone could ask her what she meant. She walked out to meet Darcy as he climbed out of his old sedan. She wanted to reach out and hug him to show him how glad she was that he'd come to his senses but instead she put her hands on her hips and waited for him to be the first to speak.

"Daisy, we need to talk." Darcy glanced toward the farmhouse and saw Luke watching him and Daisy. "Could we get in the car?"

Talking could be good. She just hoped that the fact that he wanted to talk to her alone meant that he was finally ready to ask her to marry him. Nodding, Daisy waited for Darcy to open her car door up and got inside.

Darcy then drove them away from the farm while trying to figure out just how to start this conversation so that it would go any better than the last one. Once they were away from the farm, he steered the car toward a small, intimate, private area at the pond that was usually too far off the beaten path for most others in town to go to; especially in the dead of December. After they were parked, Darcy turned to face the woman that he'd been waiting on since his voice had first began to crack.

"Daisy, I wanted to talk about last night."

"I know that I shouldn't have just sprung that out of nowhere on you, Darcy. Like you said, I know that you love me and you even said that you wanted to marry me."

"Yes, I do. Like I said last night, I just want to make sure that you want to marry me, too. After all, it just seems that you're always fightin' off attention from other men. Maybe you like all of them askin' ya out all of the time. That you like bein' able to go out with Enos or any of the other guys around town."

"I may like some of the attention that I get from folks, but I don't go home with any of them," Daisy lightly pushed on his shoulder as she spoke. "Besides, I can't remember the last time I went out with anyone else-"

"It was two weeks ago. You went out with Enos only two weeks ago," Darcy interrupted as he thought back to the weekend after Thanksgiving. He'd been able to get his later flights covered and had hoped to surprise Daisy since he'd never been able to attend the holiday festival with her. To his surprise, when he'd gotten there he found Daisy was there with his longtime rival.

"What? I didn't go out on a date with Enos two weeks ago!"

"You attended the festival with him, Days."

"That wasn't a date," Daisy said matter-of-factly. "We just rode a few rides together. That's all."

"Are you sure that he knew that?"

"What does it matter, Darcy?"

"It matters because we're talkin' about marriage. Most men don't tend to like their fiancées or wives goin' off with other men. Whether it be just to ride the ferris wheel or it be for a night out on the town. If you still want to go out with other men, then it'd mean that you aren't ready to get married. At least to me. I guess I just want to know that I'll be enough for you."

Daisy's first instinct was to get offended at the very idea that she should forgo any association with men like Enos just to prove that she was ready to get married. Before she could react to that instinct, however, Daisy was hit by something else. Darcy wasn't jealous, he was insecure. If he'd been jealous then he wouldn't have waited so long to bring up her frequent excursions with her oldest friend. No, Darcy was afraid that she still planned to cast him aside and trade him in for Enos. He didn't see that she loved Enos like a friend or a cousin; a brother even. Yes he was good to have around for her ego and she was very fond of him but that wasn't the same as loving someone enough to want to start a family with them.

She wondered how she could convince him of that. Would he always fear Enos and what he could be for Daisy had life worked out differently? Or would he finally see that the other man wasn't really a threat to their relationship? Would it help if Enos found someone of his own?

Daisy took both of Darcy's hands in hers and looked deep into his eyes as she gave him her most brilliant smiles. "Honey, if you'll marry me, I promise you that you'll be more than enough."

Taking a deep breath, Darcy returned her smile. "That's all I wanted to hear." He then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the ring that had been sitting on his mantle tucked away inside one of his model airplanes. "Now I believe I have something that belongs to you."

Daisy leaned forward to hug and kiss Darcy in response to seeing the golden band for the first time out of its small cage. After he put the ring on her finger she swore that it'd never come off again.

"Come on," Daisy pulled back just enough to give Darcy room to crank the car back up as she spoke. "Now let's head back to the farm to tell everyone."

~01~

"So Daisy, have ya thought about when you want to plan your weddin'?" Kira asked.

"I've always wanted a June wedding," Daisy said grinning. "But I don't know if I want to wait that long."

"What about you, Darcy? You have any suggestions?" Jesse asked since he was wondering just what Darcy would want when it came to the wedding date.

"June sounds about right. No offense to the others, but I've never been keen on fast engagements. Trying to get all that plannin' done in such a short amount of time gets kind of hectic. I'd prefer to take it slower and enjoy it all, instead."

"Now there's a thought. I don't know of many men that actually look forward to a long engagement," Jesse chuckled. At least he could take comfort in the knowledge that his baby girl was marrying for love. Not because she had to. Daisy and Darcy were planning a summer wedding.

"Take my advice, don't plan the wedding too far out," Luke said as he remembered just how much of a toll his and Jo's engagement had taken on him.

"Luke, you are the one who picked out the date. You wanted a date that you couldn't forget. Besides, we still only had a short engagement of two and a half months. It wasn't that long," Jo teased since Luke had been the one that had suggested that they should get married on Valentine's Day.

"I think that just means that his ass is dead the first time he forgets his anniversary," Jebb said, fully knowing that he was the next one in line when it came to being in deep shit the first time a gift didn't get bought for an anniversary. Of course he'd already figured out that all he had to do was make sure he bought two presents when he went Christmas shopping since he and Kira had gotten married the day after Christmas three years ago.

"You should talk, Jebb," Daisy laughed.

"So is this a Duke tradition, now? All you fellas chose a holiday to get married on," Darcy asked.

"Shoot, it doesn't stop there," Bo joked. "These little guys even took over New Year's and New Year's Eve for their birthdays. They get fireworks for their birthday every year," Bo reached over and ruffled one of the twin's hair as he spoke.

"This is a very festive family," Kira joked from between her sons. "Everyone really likes to have an excuse to celebrate," Kira said as she let Mikey out of his high chair since he was finished eating and was ready to run around again. "So June, huh? This doesn't mean that I have to wear another pink dress, does it?"

"You better hope I don't find a brightly colored pink dress with flowers and bows and ribbons all over the place," Daisy smiled an evil grin.

"Oh great," Kira groaned.

"I don't see why you hate pink so much anyway," Daisy smirked.

Not wanting to bring down the rest of the family with the real reason for her distaste for the color she opted for one that she figured that the others would buy without questioning too much. "Daisy, look at me. I'm a redhead with skin so pale that even ivory tinted powder is too dark for me to wear. Every time I wear pink I look like I've just spent the whole day out in the sun. And unlike you and the rest of the family, I don't tan."

"You just never let yourself build up a tolerance to the sun," Bo threw in even though he was very aware of the fact that his sister was the only pale skinned Duke. Heck, the first time he saw her in the flesh, he was certain that he was looking at a ghost.

"Right, I just love getting sun burned," Kira said sourly. Not to mention she didn't need to expose herself too much to the sun since she was already predisposed to cancer.

"Alright, so other than the fact that you already have one bride's maid who will hate her dress and you haven't even picked it out yet," Kim interrupted, "do you have anything else in mind?"

"Not yet. I haven't sat down and really started planning yet," Daisy said as her male cousins all exchanged looks and rolled their eyes. Daisy had been planning her wedding day since before she'd started elementary school. She had plans alright. She'll just tell everyone a few details at a time.

It has only been a few weeks since Kim and Bo had gotten married; now the Duke family could look forward to at least another six months of wedding planning ahead of them. This time with Daisy being the one who will be carrying the bouquet.

~01~

Hours later, Daisy headed up to her room that she'd been staying in at Luke's farm since the tornado ripped through the old family farmhouse a month prior. She was floating on air at the knowledge that at long last she was finally planning her very own wedding. And this time it wasn't like any of the other times in her life where she was dreaming of what she would want if she was going to get married. This time was for real.

Down the hall, Faith could be heard crying and Daisy could tell that Luke had gone in to tend to her while Jo was getting ready for bed. There was no doubt in her mind, Daisy wanted lots of kids. She couldn't wait until she could hold her own baby in her arms.

Lying down on her bed, Daisy rolled onto her side and stared out of her window as she tried to picture what hers and Darcy's baby would look like. Smiling, she started to drift off to sleep. She was nearly completely out when she was struck by a sudden thought. She should have had her period already this month. She should have had it late last week, this past weekend at the latest.

With her eyes popping open as wide as they could go, Daisy started to finger her new ring on her left hand. She then wondered if she had as much time as she had thought before she and Darcy started their own family.

Making a mental note, Daisy knew that she'd have to go to the drugstore and buy a pregnancy test this week. At least she and Darcy were already engaged. That meant that no one could accuse her of trapping Darcy into marriage by getting pregnant. Still, she hadn't planned on already being in the family way as she walked down the aisle. Not to mention, that if she was pregnant already, getting married in June was definitely out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

The next morning, Jebb and Kira laid in bed together right up until they absolutely had to get up to get the boys ready for the day. The fact that Kira also had to be ready for court by eight in the morning didn't help with the morning routine. Fortunately for her, Jesse helped with dressing and feeding Mikey which was just fine by her. The mere sight of food was enough to make her gag.

For the last two weeks, Kira had noticed that she'd been feeling sick to her stomach a lot lately, especially when she first woke up. She'd tried to chalk it up to just being under more stress than usual since she'd taken on a few cases up in Atlanta but a nagging part of her wondered if the nausea was a sign that she shouldn't wait another month to see her specialists that had become a normal part of her life; having to be seen by them twice a year after she'd given birth to the boys.

Kira tried to ignore the churning in her stomach but when she finally forced herself to sit with the rest of the family to eat some breakfast before they all were to leave out for court she finally lost the battle. As the bacon and eggs were put on the table for the family Kira choked back what was left of her supper the night before and jumped up to head toward the downstairs bathroom since she knew that she'd never make it up the stairs.

Kira wasn't surprised when her husband came knocking at the door just as soon as she finished getting sick in the toilet. Not being able to gather enough strength to turn around and let him in, she just called out to tell him that the door was unlocked as she leaned back against the tub with her eyes closed.

"You alright?" Jebb asked as he went over and sat on the edge of the tub. Kira nodded her head but didn't look up. He reached around to move Kira's hair that was pooled around her away from her face. She'd gone back to letting her hair grow out after the boys were born so it was once again so long that it brushed her thighs when she walked. "Why didn't you tell me that you've been sick?" Jebb asked.

"This is the first time I've actually thrown up. I've been feeling a bit off for a few days, though. It'd just figure that this would happen this morning," Kira mumbled, all the while trying to rein in her rebellious stomach.

"I think we'd best call one of the doctors to come check ya out." Jebb never liked seeing Kira sick but she was right, this couldn't have come at a worse time. At least knowing that she's been fighting off whatever this illness is for a couple of days made her unusual moodiness make sense. "In the meantime, why don't you hea-"

"We don't have time for that. We have to be out of here in just under a half hour. Besides, now that I've gotten everything up, I'm startin' to feel a little better. Not to mention, the nausea has been easing up by mid-morning anyway. I'll be alright. Once I get to Atlanta I promise get as much rest as I can."

"Kira, I don't really think that you should go while you're sick."

"I don't really have much of a choice, now do I? I've already lost today in court and I really can't afford to miss another day. Not to mention, I'd be found in contempt of court if I don't show."

"Right, I forgot about that." Jebb continued to smooth Kira's hair as he thought about what he could do to help ease things for his wife. "I could pack the boys up and we could head out with you."

"And with you gone, who's goin' to take care of the farms?"

Kira really didn't want to talk right now since it was taking all of her concentration with keeping the remaining contents in her stomach down but she knew that Jebb wasn't thinking of the fact that Bo and Luke were likely to be spending the next week or so behind bars. With both theirs and Luke's farm chores to tend to, not to mention the building over at the other farm that will have to continue in some way regardless of the other men's sentences, there was more than enough work that would have to be done.

"Bo and Lu- You really don't think that they're comin' home today?"

Kira shook her head no. She'd tried to prepare the rest of the family yesterday while they discussed the court date over lunch but were distracted by Daisy and Darcy's wedding announcement. What she didn't tell them was that Judge Walker had the reputation of being a hanging judge. He had a no nonsense method to his sentencing that most of the other judges that worked the Hazzard circuit didn't have. Walker had the tendency to go a bit more heavy-handed than any of the others.

"Great." Jebb grimaced since he had to acknowledge the fact that he would be needed in Hazzard if his cousins did end up with a sentence of jail time rather than a fine. That meant that his wife would be heading back to the big city alone and apparently sick. Something that he really didn't like at all.

"We'd better get back in the kitchen. The boys are probably givin' Jesse a fit by now."

Kira wobbly got to her feet and washed her face to try to clean up a bit before rejoining the rest of the household. She could see the wheels in Jebb's head working overtime with trying to figure out how he could take care of the farm and her at the same time but this was just one time that he'd have to admit that he couldn't do everything. She was a big girl and knew how to take care of herself. Jebb would just have to deal with the less than ideal situation on the farm.

~01~

Daisy woke up and shocked herself at the fact that she had stayed in bed so late. She had planned to go to the courthouse with the rest of the family but by the time she woke up she could hear the Mustang pulling out of the driveway. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to get up and get ready for the day and catch up with the rest of the family before they saw the judge, Daisy went ahead and took her time getting dressed. As she did so, she kept looking at her ring that she'd been waiting on for a long time.

Once downstairs, she ate the breakfast that Jo must have left for her before hopping into her Jeep to head over to the next county. Living in a small town, Daisy wasn't about to go to the pharmacy in Hazzard to buy the pregnancy test so she headed to the one in Chickasaw County instead. She rarely went to Sheriff Little's county so she doubted that word would spread as quick that an unmarried Daisy Duke bought a pregnancy test if she went there instead. There was just too big of a chance that one of her friends would spot her if she went to Capital City.

Daisy figured that since Darcy wouldn't be home for a couple of hours, it would be best if she went to his house to take the tests. No sense in having everyone at the farm guessing what she suspects before she had even taken the tests.

She was so nervous but she wasn't sure if she was hoping for a positive or a negative result.

~01~

Jesse stood on the courthouse steps as he watched both of his boys pull up separately with each of their wives in tow. As Luke and Jo got out of their Mustang, Jesse watched his nephew hand the keys to his wife which showed him that Luke was well aware of the probability that he wouldn't be going home at the end of the day. Luke then unbuckled Faith's car seat and carried her with him as he and Jo joined the rest of the family.

"Morning, Luke!" Jesse called out to his oldest. "Kira went on in and is talkin' to the A.D.A right now. She's goin' to see if she can get the charges reduced."

"I hope Old Man Copley agrees. Of course no matter what, Walker has to approve whatever deal Kira works out," Luke said a bit pessimistically.

"Copley'll go for it. You know he will," Bo said as he started to walk toward the courthouse stairs with his arm around Kim.

She'd leave out for the clinic right after they were done inside but he and Kim had plans to go car shopping after lunch. Her Jeep had been destroyed last month in the tornado but it had taken the whole month to get her check from the insurance company so she could replace it. Kim didn't really care much about what she got to drive but Bo did; which is why she figured that she might as well as let him be the one to pick it out. Kim knew that Bo would have a hay day car shopping. In fact, she wasn't sure if she even needed to go at all. She was certain that once they got out to the car lot, Bo was bound to zone out and focus only on what had four tires and a motor.

When the family all went inside, Kira walked over to where they would wait for the Judge to come out. She told them that Copley had agreed to two things. One, he'd lowered the charges to Simple Assault. Two, he wasn't going to oppose a request for a continuance. That way, hopefully, they could wait until after Christmas for the hearing.

"If we're lucky, we'll even pull a different judge to hear the case if the continuance is granted," Kira said as she closed her eyes while trying to ease the queasiness that she still felt in her stomach.

"Here's to hopin' that everything works out alright," Jesse said. He really couldn't say much more than that since Judge Walker chose that moment to walk into the courtroom. Everyone stood up and waited for the Judge to take his seat before they all sat back down.

"First and foremost, I see that a motion has been filed to request a continuance in this matter. I've read the motion and I find that considering that we're all here and ready to proceed, a continuance would be a waste of the court's time," Judge Walker said as he moved various papers around on his desk. Luke closed his eyes briefly to brace himself for what he was certain was coming. "Now, it is my understanding that the people and the attorney for the defendants have reached a deal in regards to these charges. Is that correct?"

"Yes, Your Honor," both Kira and Mr. Copley said in response to the judge's question.

"I see. I've read the affidavits from all persons involved in the altercation from over the weekend," Judge Walker said as he eyed the late-comer to his courtroom. "But I've also taken the liberty to read the on-going file on these two that has been accumulating since before the law could legally lock them up. Therefore, I will not be approving the defense's deal."

"Your Honor, with all due respect, past deeds and behaviors should have no bearing on this case," Kira spoke up. If Walker held past crimes against her brother and cousin, there was no way that they'd be home for Christmas.

"I disagree. Perhaps if other judges had not coddled your clients, then just maybe they would not be standing in my courtroom today for behaving as if they were still kids in school." As the judge spoke, Luke knew that he wouldn't be going home before the end of this year, bare minimum. Beside him, Bo was standing there trying to take in just what the judge was saying. Now he didn't feel very optimistically anymore, either. "Now, I could give both of you a nice long stay at our local accommodations, but seeing as how it is the holiday season, I'll be generous and only give you fifteen days in lock up. The next time you stand before me, however, I can promise you that I will give you the maximum that the law allows."

"Fifteen days! You can't be serious!" Bo shouted outloud. With today being the sixteenth, that meant that he and Luke wouldn't get out until the thirty-first. Not only would they not be going home today, but they'll miss Christmas with their families.

"For that outburst, you get another ten days for contempt," Judge Walker said as he pounded his gavel.

Luke had his mouth open and was about to speak up on his cousin's behalf but came up short when he heard Faith sneeze from her place in Jo's arms on the bench right behind him. That slight sound from his baby girl was enough to remind him of his resolve to spend as little time in jail as possible now that he had someone other than himself to worry about when he ended up in behind bars.

"Twen-" Bo was cut off by his cousin elbowing him in his ribs as he tried to warn him to stay quiet.

"Would you like to try for thirty?" Walker bellowed from his position behind his desk. Bo instantly realized his mistake and clamped his mouth shut as he shook his head no. "Good. Now anything else that either of you have to say, I'd suggest that you say it through your attorney."

Bo silently swore but knew it'd be best to not say anything else.

"Your Honor, I apologize for my client's temporary lapse in judgment. But I find that the sentence is just a bit harsh given the offense_. _Both men have family obligations to attend to and-_"_

"If your clients would have waited for me to complete my sentencing, they would have benefited from my taking that into consideration. As it is now, any thoughts of suspending the sentences are now out of the question," Judge Walker said gruffly. "Now, the defendants will be taken into custody by the Hazzard County Sheriff's Department. That is unless either of you would like to earn anymore time as wards of the state," Judge Walker said as he eyed the fellas. "No? Good. Sheriff, if you would take these two on downstairs."

Bo was dumbfounded that the judge was locking them up over the holidays. Jesse reached from behind them to hug both of his nephews and took the keys to the General from Bo. The men hugged their wives and were led away by Rosco down to the lower jail cells.

~01~

Jo had wanted to go down and see Luke but Jesse told both her that just wasn't going to happen until at least lunch. Instead, he started to herd his family on out of the courthouse. He walked up to Kira and put an arm around her shoulders as he walked her over to her motorcycle with its street tires on it.

"I tried, Uncle Jesse. It doesn't look like it's goin' to be a very Merry Christmas this year. Not with both boys behind bars."

"It ain't your fault. You did your best. Now, don't go blamin' yourself just because them boys ain't learned not to trade punches in the bar. Are you goin' back to the farm before drivin' out?" Jesse asked in concern.

After seeing Kira getting sick over breakfast, he was concerned for her heading out all alone. He'd held out hope that the judge would be lenient but now he knew that Jebb would remain the only freed Duke Boy in Hazzard for the next fifteen days. That meant that even if Jebb wanted to go to the big city with his wife, he'd feel too obligated to remain behind to do so.

At least he had the solace of knowing that Luke had enough sense to not join his cousin in his verbal outburst. Bo will be spending an extra ten days in lockup on his own.

"I'm not sure if I should. The twins will probably get really worked up if I go home for just a little while. Then Jebb will be stuck calming them down again. Not to mention I need to see what all I've missed in Atlanta today," Kira said as she put her helmet on. She knew that both the car and truck would be needed at the farm so she was riding out on her bike. Besides, it wasn't like she had luggage to worry about. Kira had taken everything that she'd need the first trip out. "I think it'd be best if I just headed on out now."

"You make sure you call as soon as you get back to the hotel and take it easy while you're out of town," Jesse told his niece as she climbed onto her green cycle.

Ordinarily, Jesse didn't worry too much when one of his charges got sick. Kira, she was a bit different. She'd hate for anyone to consider her as being sickly, but between the cancer that she's had to fight off twice, not to mention the heart problems that were holdovers from her bout with pre-eclampsia during her pregnancy, Jesse couldn't help but eye her just a bit more closely than he would the others when they got sick.

Knowing that there was nothing that he could do for his niece nor his boys right now, Jesse headed toward his truck to drive on out to the farm. One thing was for sure. With Bo and Luke locked up, getting a decent start on rebuilding the farmhouse may have to wait a while.

~01~

Daisy stared at the test that had turned blue; blue meaning that she was, without a doubt, pregnant. On one hand she was ecstatic since she'd wanted her own baby for years. On the other hand, she was a bit apprehensive of just how Darcy might take the news. Then of course, there was the rest of the family.

With it being the sixteenth, Daisy tried to figure up in her head just how far along she was. She must have gotten pregnant just around Thanksgiving. That would put her due date somewhere in August.

Staring out of the window, Daisy's mind began to work on just how she planned to tell Darcy about the baby. After waiting so long to get married and have a baby of her own, she couldn't believe that she'd gotten both of them in less than one day. Yesterday she'd finally gotten Darcy to agree to marry her and today she's learned that she's going to be a mother. The only thing that could make all of it better was if she could make sure that she was married before anyone else found out about her pregnancy. Well, anyone but Darcy of course.

Smiling, Daisy opened the door and figured that she'd best get started with getting things together for when she'd tell her future husband that they already had a baby on the way. She already had a plan forming in her mind.

~01~

Jebb watched the boys running from the dining room and into the family room with more energy than he could ever remember having. As the twins screamed and squealed during yet another pass through, he grabbed the phone. In the meantime, he reminded himself that he should really bundle the kids up and let them run around outside to use up some of that extra energy.

Waiting for someone to pick up the other end of the line, Jebb lifted the cord from the phone as Mikey started to circle around his legs. Just as he heard his mother answer the phone, Jay joined his brother as he raced around their father.

_"What in the world?"_

"Sorry, Mom. The boys have had a bit of cabin fever with the cold weather and all. I was just about to take them out in just a little while."

_"It sounds like you need a leash for them boys. So tell me, what do I owe this phone call to? And you better not be calling to tell me that you and Kira aren't coming up for Christmas."_

"No, that's not why I'm callin', though it does concern Kira. I was wonderin' if you'd do me a favor."

_"Kira? A favor?"_

"Yeh, look, she headed back to Atlanta this mornin' but she's been a little under the weather. I was hopin' that you could maybe go and check on her this week."

_"Oh course I'll go and check on her. I still say that there was no reason for her to be stayin' in the city by herself, no how. Not with family so close by. She should have taken us up on our offer to let her stay here while workin' in Atlanta."_

"Yeh, well…" Jebb didn't really share his mother's belief that Kira would have been better off in Placid for two months with his mother. Not with the fact that they had an uneasy truce between them; a truce that could only suffer from prolonged time alone together. "Anyway, I was just wantin' you to go and check on her. She didn't look to well this morning."

_"I'll go and see her this afternoon. Maybe even bring her home for a nice, home-cooked meal."_

"Thanks, Mom." Knowing that his mother would check in on his wife made him feel a little bit better. She may not like him checking up on her in this way but Kira will get over it. He hoped.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six:**

As Jo and Kim left the courthouse, Jo eyed her friend. She remembered how scared she'd been to stay out at the cabin by herself on Friday night. She really couldn't blame her considering the nightmare that she'd lived through with her ex-husband. Now Kim had twenty-five days to be out at the cabin by herself.

"You want to stay out at the house? Daisy has tonight off so we can stay up and have a girl's night in. That is if she doesn't head out to Darcy's for the night," Jo offered her friend.

"I'll have to learn to stay out at the cabin by myself eventually," Kim said softly. She didn't look forward sleeping alone, but she also didn't want to become dependent on the others every time Bo wasn't home.

"True, but it doesn't mean that you have to start tonight," Jo said as she slipped her arm through Kim's. "Come on, I'm even sure that Bo would feel better if you came out for at least a couple of nights."

"I suppose," Kim said. She knew that if she was honest with herself, she'd feel better about it too. "But I still can't get into the habit of staying at yours and Luke's every time Bo is locked up. I'm sure that Luke would find that old real fast to have a houseguest that often."

"Like he'd notice," Jo chuckled. "How often are one of those fellas behind bars without the other sitting right there beside them? I'm even surprised that he didn't end up getting those extra ten days when Bo got them."

"You have a point there. I can't remember the last time," Kim laughed, "Alright, girl's night then. Maybe we can help her plan her wedding. June is a long ways off. Do you really think that she and Darcy will stick to that as being when the wedding will be?"

"I don't see why not. Daisy is practically living over there at Darcy's already, now that she ain't living under the same roof as Jesse. I think she's enjoyed seeing Luke's look of disapproval when she'd come stumbling in at breakfast on nights that Darcy was home in the last month," Jo chuckled. "I think Jesse was going to see the guys after he finished over at Cooter's. We'll let him know that you're coming home with me so he can pass it on to Bo."

~01~

Daisy pulled up at Cooter's for some gas before she planned to swing by the market. When Cooter came out of the garage to help her he filled her in on what she missed in court that morning.

"Uncle Jesse says that the judge gave them both fifteen days for the fight and gave Bo an extra ten days for contempt of court. He's lucky he didn't get more, though," Cooter walked around the Jeep to fill Daisy's tank up as he spoke. "That Judge Walker walked into the courtroom with a burr already in his saddle."

"Twenty-five days?" Daisy had begun to hope that she could convince everyone that she just couldn't wait until June and wanted to get married as fast as possible. With Bo in lock up until the second week of January, that definitely put a crimp in her plans. There was no way that she'd want to get married with only part of her family present but not the rest. Still if she waited that long, wouldn't she be starting to show by then?

"Yep. That's some way for old Bo to start off his married life, huh." Cooter chuckled just a bit. "Even I thought that he'd wait until he'd been married at least a month before ending up in Rosco's Iron Bar Hotel. Speakin' of married life, I heard that you have some news on that front, yourself. You and Darcy plannin' on getting' married in June?"

"That's the plan so far," Daisy said before adding, "Though to be honest, I've begun to rethink the whole long-engagement thing. I'd like to just go ahead and get married as soon as possible. There doesn't seem to be any reason to wait, really." _Not to mention there was a reason not to wait now,_ she thought to herself.

"I guess I could understand that. It never made much sense to me why some folks wait a year or more after they get engaged. It's like they ain't sure if they want to get married or not. Like the engagement is a trial run. Personally, if I ever decided to get married again, I'd likely be at the courthouse before the lady finished sayin' yes." Cooter then winked before adding, "Just to make sure she didn't change her mind."

Laughing, "A woman would have to be crazy to change her mind about you, Cooter."

"Maybe but I still think I'd rather not chance it. Of course you won't have that problem. Ain't no way Darcy will let you change your mind on him. He knows half the men in Hazzard would love to take his place."

"I'd certainly hope he knows that." Daisy graciously accepted the compliment as she looked toward the jail. "I think I'll go see the fellas to see if they need anything before I head back out to the farm. I'll catch you later, Coot."

~01~

Later in the evening in Atlanta, Kira felt just a touch better after she'd drunk some of the tea that her friend Brent had brought her after she'd told him that she was still feeling under the weather. She'd become friends with Brent long before she'd passed the bar, even before Brent was out. She'd even considered dating him, way back when. Looking at him now, she still thought that it was a shame that Brent was gay. He had the kind of looks that women would practically throw themselves at. In fact, she could remember Jebb acting a bit jealous of the relationship she had with the young cop before he learned that Kira wasn't Brent's type. Of course, she wasn't dating Jebb at the time so she hadn't felt that he had any right at the time to feel jealous. It was only after Jebb had learned that he was more Brent's type than Kira was that he slacked off on acting like he'd been bitten by the green-eyed monster any time she mentioned him.

Once Kira started dating Jebb, she still maintained a strong relationship with one of her few friends that she'd had before becoming a Duke. Now that she was spending so much time in Atlanta again, away from her family, spending her extra time with Brent had helped to lessen the loneliness. That was strange when Kira stopped to think about it; being alone never used to bother her all that much. Now after three years of being surrounded by her family, it felt odd to have so much time to herself. She guessed that if she ever had any doubt about how much she loved her life in Hazzard, they were gone now. She knew that once she made her last ride back to Hazzard at the end of January, she wasn't going to go anywhere without Jebb or the boys for a long time.

Kira greeted her friend and slipped her arm through his and stepped out of her room with him. They had plans to eat dinner at a restaurant that they had frequented when she lived here in Atlanta.

"Are you sure you should have come back to Atlanta if you think you're coming down with the flu? I mean, didn't you say that you were just dealing with jury selection this week? The trial won't even start until after the holidays. Couldn't you have Tom handle that for you?"

"Tom's busy in the middle of his own case. Besides, I seriously doubt it's really the flu. I've been a little sick, but I'm not running a fever. Besides, I've been fine by the time lunch comes around, at least on most days."

"So you've only really been sick in the morning?" Brent smirked, "It sounds an awful lot like morning sickness. You sure that you couldn't be pregnant? After all, you've been like this for the last week."

"Trust me, I can honestly say that I'm certain that I ain't pregnant," Kira laughed at the absurdity of the idea of her being pregnant again.

"What makes you so sure?" Brent asked amused.

"Because right after the boys were born, with the way I got so sick when I was pregnant, the heart and kidney damage that I suffered... Not to mention we were lucky that there wasn't anything majorly wrong with the boys simply because Jebb and I are cousins, Jebb saw to it to make sure that we didn't have any more kids."

"Are you saying that Jebb...can't have kids anymore?" Brent chuckled.

"That's exactly what I'm sayin'. So you see, I can't be pregnant," Kira said emphatically.

"Alright, alright. It just looked like the symptoms fit. So sue me for thinking that you and Jebb might be looking to fill that crib again that you said the boys are getting too big for," Brent said with his hands raised in surrender. "Come on, I'll take ya out to eat."

Kira left the hotel with her old friend as they headed out to dinner since she hadn't eaten since the breakfast that Jebb had forced on her before leaving Hazzard that morning. She hadn't wanted it and she swore that the food had made her more nauseous than if she had gone to court without anything on her stomach at all.

~01~

Pauline got out of her car and checked the paper that she'd written the name of the hotel that Jebb had told her that Kira was staying at. She hadn't expected an upscale hotel and a part of her wondered just how much a night in a place like it would cost. Her family in Placid had always had a bit more than most of the others in town but she couldn't imagine staying at the hotel across the street.

Pauline waited for the traffic to ease up enough to cross and saw her daughter-in-law coming out of the very hotel that she had been planning to go into. Only, she wasn't alone as one would expect. She was walking out arm in arm with a good-looking darkhaired man that she'd never seen before. Kira was laughing and joking with him and she looked far from being sick as Jebb had claimed when he'd called earlier.

Frowning, Pauline didn't like what she'd just stumbled upon. She'd come to the city to take care of an ailing family member and instead found that her son's wife was going out with another man.

~01~

Darcy walked into his house after a long day of flying the commuter route back and forth between Capital City and Atlanta. He walked into the kitchen and got a can of soup out of the cupboard and opened it for his supper and put it in a small pot on the stove to start warming up before he headed back toward the bathroom while he waited.

In the bathroom, Darcy was taking care of business when he looked down on the counter and saw a small vial of blue liquid. Curious, he tried to figure out what it was. Looking down into the small trash can beside the toilet, he spotted a box. Leaning over to pick it up, Darcy dropped it the moment he realized what it was. A box for a home pregnancy test. After the initial shock wore off, he picked it up again and turned the box around and began to read the instructions on the back. When he got to the part that explained the results, Darcy looked back to the blue vial on the counter.

"Pregnant?"

~01~

Daisy planned to go over to Darcy's after supper to talk to him about her test results but she had a little time to chat with her cousins' wives before she left.

"Alright, Days, what have you got planned so far?" Kim said as she tucked her feet under her as she sat on the couch. Jo had just finished feeding Faith and putting her down in her crib and had joined the other Duke Women just as Kim started to pry any and all wedding plans out of the bride-to-be.

"Well, I like the idea of a small wedding with just the family. Of course that's no reason that I can't have a nice wedding dress; one with a long train and all." Actually, she'd always wanted a big church wedding with just about the whole town there but she knew that she was on bit of a time crunch now. She'd have to compromise on the kind of wedding she'd always wanted just as she'd had to compromise on the idea of having one in June.

"We'll have to go dress shopping after the holidays are over so we can see if there is anything that you like at the bridal shop," Jo said.

"How about that dress you saw last month when I was dress shopping. It wasn't my size but it looked like it would fit you perfectly," Kim said.

"The one with the huge train?" Daisy exclaimed, "I loved that one!"

"There haven't been any other weddings in town since Bo and I got married so it's probably still there," Kim grinned as she saw Daisy's face light up at the mere mention of the wedding dress that had caught her eye.

"Oh, I hope so. If not, I could always use Aunt Lavinia's dress; or I could just make one for myself. I planned to make the bride's maids' dresses anyway."

"I think you'll have a fight on your hands with Kira if you still plan to make her wear pink. I still can't believe she wore that dress for Kim and Bo's wedding." Jo laughed at the memory of Kira's face when they'd gone in to pick up their dresses for the last wedding less than a month earlier. She'd never considered pink to be her best color either but she'd thought that Kira's reaction to it to be a bit much.

"Me either. But did you notice that she intentionally let Mikey ruin it during the reception?" Daisy then moved in a bit closer to pretend to whisper to the other women as she added, "I guess she wanted to make sure she couldn't ever be conned into wearing it again."

Just then, from upstairs, Faith could be heard crying from the nursery. "That would be my cue that someone needs her diaper changed. I'll be right back." Jo headed on back upstairs to tend to her little girl.

Kim watched as Daisy stared after Jo as she left the room to tend to the infant. "You and Darcy talk about whether or not you'll start a family?"

"Well, we haven't talked about it since the engagement, but I definitely want to start one as soon as possible. I want a little girl of my own so much. The first thing I plan to do when I get married is to toss my birth control pills out. That way, whatever happens, happens," Daisy said with a mischievous grin. In fact she had already started making plans for a nursery over at Darcy's and knew which room she wanted to transform for her baby who was on the way.

"I have the feeling that you'll be pregnant in no time with an attitude like that," Kim said as she shook her head. "Especially as fertile as this family seems to be. First Kira gets pregnant while she was on the pill, then Luke gets Jo pregnant on their honeymoon. And we already know that twins run in the family too. Plus, wasn't Jesse one of eight kids?"

"Yep, he was. And as far as twins, I wouldn't mind that."

"You wouldn't? I teased Luke that he was havin' multiples when Jo was pregnant and his face went so pale. I swear if I hadn't told him I was jokin' I might have seen him pass out. Which might have been fun to see."

"Who would have ever pictured Luke as the doting father and husband? I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself," Daisy giggled. "I just hope that Darcy will adjust to family life so easily."

"I'm pretty sure you can get him to do just about anything. And it's not like you're havin' a baby tomorrow, anyway. You'll have plenty of time to get ready for that stage in your life," Kim said just a bit envious since she knew that she couldn't look forward to making the same plans as Daisy was when it came to planning a family with Bo. It was a good thing that Bo was resigned to being the fun-loving uncle.

Kim's ex-husband had seen to it that she wouldn't be able to have any kids. He'd beaten her so badly when she was pregnant while they were married that the child that she was carrying didn't survive. It was then that she was told that she had so much scar tissue in her uterus that it would be nearly impossible for her to get pregnant again. And even if she did get pregnant, it would be even harder to carry another child to term.

Kim supposed that she should be satisfied with the life she had now. She never in a million years would have expected to find herself as happy as she was with Bo. Still, a part of herself couldn't help but wonder what a child with Bo would have looked like.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven:**

Pulling up outside of Darcy's house out on the outskirts of town, Daisy checked her makeup as she tried to figure out just how to tell Darcy that she was pregnant. It hadn't been something that she'd planned and right now she was really at a loss for words. She wasn't sorry for the unplanned pregnancy but it was certainly going to put a wrench in the plans that they'd already discussed. She got out of the Jeep and went on inside to find Darcy sitting on the couch staring at a box on the coffee table. It was a box that she'd forgotten when she left out earlier in the day.

Darcy looked up when Daisy walked in and after a brief moment of the two of them staring at one another he said, "I'm guessin' that you have something to tell me."

"This isn't exactly the way I'd hoped to tell you." Daisy went over to sit beside of Darcy on the couch. "I was wanting to really do this right. You know."

Looking away from the box that he'd been staring at since he'd gotten home, Darcy asked, "How long have you known?"

"I took the test this morning."

"Why? Why did you take it this morning?" If Darcy was honest with himself, a part of him wondered if the only reason that Daisy had asked him about why he never asked her to marry him was the fact that she already knew that she was pregnant.

"After telling everyone about the engagement yesterday, I was thinking about how we were finally about to start a family of our own. I was nearly asleep when I realized that I was late this month."

One look at Daisy and Darcy knew that she was telling him the truth. The fact that she found out that she was pregnant the day after they got engaged was just a wild coincidence. One that if it had happened to someone else he'd never believe.

"So I guess this means June is out now." Darcy reached out and took Daisy's hand and lightly pulled her back to lean against him on the couch.

"You're not upset? I know that this is a little fast-" In her mind, she would have liked to have set the mood and get him ready for a nice, romantic evening in before telling him. Having him find the box for the pregnancy test wasn't something that she'd even entertained as a possible way to tell him that he was going to be a father.

"Upset? Honey, I could never be upset with you. Especially over something like this. I love you and can't wait to have a baby with you." Darcy leaned over and gave her a slow and sweet kiss that comforted Daisy. He then leaned back and lifted her chin before adding, "Your family, on the other hand, might not be so understanding."

Daisy groaned since she'd been so focused on telling Darcy that she hadn't even had time to think about how she could tell her uncle and cousins. "I forgot about them!"

"As much as I hate to admit it, I think we should tell them before we get married. The last thing that I'd want to do is to start off our marriage lying to them."

"It wouldn't really be lying if we just didn't tell them until we got married."

"No, but when we tell them that we want to get married about six months sooner than we told them just yesterday, they're bound to ask why."

"Yes, they are. And even if I tried to hide it, my Uncle Jesse would be able to tell that something is up anyway. I don't know how he's been able to do it but none of us have ever been able to hide a thing from him." Daisy grinned as she thought about her uncle and some of the things that she'd thought she'd gotten away with during her life only to learn that she hadn't gotten away with anything at all. "I suppose we should tell him in the mornin'. Then we'll have to go to the jail and tell Luke and Bo."

"At least they'll both be behind bars," Darcy joked. He knew that Luke was well aware of the fact that he'd been ready to marry his cousin but that didn't mean that he was ready to hear that Daisy had gotten pregnant before making it to the altar. Bo, on the other hand, likely would feel the urge to defend his cousin's honor the moment he heard about the pending birth. "I'll be safe from them until they get out, at least."

Daisy laughed at the image that popped into her head of Darcy standing back away from the bars as they planned to tell her cousins of the fact that she was expecting a small bundle of her own. "Well the good news is, I don't think that they'll want to leave me a widow to raise a kid all by myself."

"Gee, thanks." Darcy made a face as Daisy continued to giggle. "So I guess now we just have to figure out a new date for the wedding. And soon."

"Humm…" Daisy started to think over different possibilities. "Well, I wouldn't feel right not having my Uncle Jesse there with Bo and Luke so driving over to Chickamahoney tonight is out. But if we wait until Bo gets out of jail to get married I might be showing by then."

"Well the only way to avoid that is to get married down in the jail itself-"

"That's it!"

Darcy chuckled as he gave Daisy an amused look. "You want to get married in jail?"

"No, silly. The courthouse. I'm sure that I could get Lulu to convince Boss to let Bo and Luke attend a wedding just up the stairs. It's not like he'd be settin' them free or nothin'. Then we wouldn't have to wait to get married."

Darcy thought over the idea of being married at the courthouse. He didn't really care where they got married. He knew that the Duke family had a long history with the county jail so in a way it almost made a twisted kind of sense that a Duke wouldn't shun the idea of getting married there.

"Alright. There's just one thing to work out."

"What's that?"

"With us getting married so soon after word's gotten out that we're engaged, folks are bound to talk. Are you ready for that?"

Daisy scrunched her brows as she considered what Darcy was saying. She knew that it wouldn't take long for folks to put two and two together but she should be able to avoid it at first, at least. "Not necessarily. Bo and Kim only had a two week engagement so it shouldn't be too bad if we had one about that long… Hey! I got it! What if we got married on New Year's?"

"New Year's?"

"A new year, I'll be a new bride and expectin' a new baby."

"And you'll be continuin' the tradition that your cousins started with gettin' married durin' a holiday. But doesn't your cousins' kids have New Year's covered?"

Smiling, "I'm sure they won't mind sharin' the day with their Aunt Daisy. So what do you think?"

Taking another look at the box on the coffee table, Darcy took a deep breath before saying, "So how should we tell your uncle and cousins?"

~01~

The next morning, Pauline stared out of the kitchen window as she washed the breakfast dishes the next morning. All she could think of was that her baby boy was going to be so crushed when she ended up telling him what she had seen yesterday. And she was going to have to tell him, too.

She hated that this was going to happen right at the holiday season. She really did. But the sooner that her boy knew that his wife was stepping out on him, the sooner he could get everything together and file for a divorce. A divorce. No one on either side of the family had ever gotten a divorce before. If only he hadn't of been so blind years ago when he married Kira. She'd tried to stop him. She did. But by the time she knew of the relationship between her son and niece, it had been too late.

"Something wrong? You look mad," John said as he walked by. He was heading out to check on the animals since he had a mare ready to foal at any time but the look in his wife's face stopped him dead in his tracks. He'd been on the receiving end of that look often enough over the years to know that she was boiling beneath the surface.

"I am mad. Would you like to know why I didn't bring Kira here last night after I drove all the way to the city to check on her after Jebb called and said that she was sick?"

"I just assumed that you either didn't find her or she preferred to stay in town," John said as smirked. He knew danged well that his wife and niece/daughter-in-law got along best when they were at least a four hour drive apart from one another.

"Oh I found her alright! And she was with another man, John! She's usin' her time away from Hazzard to cheat on our son!"

"Now Pauline, don't let your imagination get the better of you. You know as well as I do that them kids are crazy about one another. Wouldn't neither one of them do anything to hurt the other," Jebb's father said as he decided that he might as well pour himself a cup of coffee while he was talking to his wife.

"I know that Jebb is crazy for that girl, Lord knows why, but it looks like the feeling ain't mutual," Pauline shot back.

"Pauline, she was probably just talkin' to one of her colleagues. She wouldn't-"

"They were coming out of her hotel, John! What kind of business could they have been doing for court in a hotel?" Pauline said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. John tried to find a reply to that but he as much as he wanted to defend Kira to his wife, that didn't look good. "That's what I thought. That girl is steppin' out on Jebb and I plan to make sure he knows about it."

"Now Pauline, wait-"

"No, John. I have to look out for my baby. I have to call him and tell him that-"

"Even if, that's a big if; and I ain't sayin' that she is. But even if Kira is cheatin' on Jebb, you can't tell him something like that over the phone," John said. Personally, he'd like to talk to Kira himself before his wife called their son.

"Alright. I'll just ask him to come out to the house early this year for Christmas. Have him come to Placid this week instead of waiting for next week," Pauline said as she made her way to the phone. She wasn't about to just let this be. Not now.

~01~

Jesse was outside watching the twins throwing some cracked corn out to the chickens in amusement. Mikey had a tendency to chase the hens as he threw the food at them while Jay did his best to throw the grain as far away from himself as he could since he was a bit timid around them. As a result, the hens gathered around the younger, calmer, twin much more readily than the active and rambunctious older one.

As Jesse gathered the eggs from the hen house, Daisy's Jeep pulled up and he could tell that Darcy was riding shotgun. Abandoning the corn and chickens in favor of his aunt, Jay ran over to greet her. In the process, getting himself picked up away from the greedy birds who had begun to peck at the food while it was still in his hands.

"Mornin', Little Jaybird." Daisy hugged the toddler to herself as she reminded herself that very soon she'll have a little one of her own. "Mornin', Mikey."

"Eh!" Mikey hollered back as he threw a handful of feed at the head of the nearest chicken.

"Daisy. Darcy. I wasn't expectin' to see you two this mornin'."

"My first flight isn't for another two hours and Daisy and I wanted to talk to you before I left out." Darcy ran a hand through his brown hair nervously. Now that he was actually faced to face with the man who had raised Daisy, he was a bit apprehensive of just how he was going to take the news that they had to give him.

"Is Jebb around?" Daisy secretly hoped that he wasn't since she figured that it'd be easier to break the news to her cousins once Jesse was on board with their plans for the bumped up wedding.

"Nope. We were out at the other farm and loaded up the last of the garbage from the wrecked house to haul off to the dump and he's drivin' it off now. Now with the last of the old farm house bein' carried off, we'll be ready to start markin' off for the new one. Hopefully we can have it up by the weddin'. That way we can have our first-"

"Actually, the weddin' is what we wanted to talk to you about." Daisy wrapped a hand around Jay's and noticed how cold it was so she rubbed it a little to warm it up and gave him a kiss before she said, "If you think the boys have had enough time outside, maybe we could head in to warm up a little."

"Yeh, it is a bit too cold to be out here for long with them." Jesse turned and called Mikey to join the rest of them inside. After he and Daisy unbundled the boys and set them loose in the living room to play with some of their toys the adults all gathered around the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. "So what's this about the weddin'? You two have some plans already made?"

"Actually, we do," Daisy leaned forward with excitement clearly showing on her face. "We've decided to move the wedding up just a bit."

Jesse's curiosity was now piqued. "Just how much is a bit?"

"New Year's."

"New Year's?! Why in the world would you want to move it up that soon? Both of the boys won't even be out of jail by then. Not to mention, that is only two weeks away and-" Jesse came up short as he saw a look exchanged between the engaged couple. "Daisy, you wouldn't happen to have another little bit of news for me?"

"We just found out yesterday." Darcy nodded and answered for his soon-to-be wife. "As for Bo still bein' in lock up-"

"I figured that we could get married at the courthouse and Boss shouldn't be able to say anything about not lettin' him come to the weddin' since the jail is still right there in the same buildin'," Daisy finished for him.

Jesse leaned back in his chair as he sipped his coffee while taking in the news. He let the couple in front of him sweat for just a moment while he mulled over it all. He then put his coffee back down while keeping a stern and impassive look on his face for just a second longer before he gave his girl a smile. What's done is done and he believed them when they said that neither had known of the upcoming birth when they'd gotten engaged since if they had June would have never had been in the plans.

"Well, it looks like we have ourselves a lot of plannin' to do and not a lot of time to do it in."

~01~

Luke stared at the ceiling as he waited for Jo and Faith to show up for their daily allotted amount of time for a visit. A strong part of himself wished that his little girl would never have to see him locked away behind these bars but another part, a more selfish part, couldn't bear to miss a single day of her life. She was just a little over a month old and she was already growing so fast. Plus, if he was forced to admit it, he was afraid that Faith would forget him if she didn't see him every day.

One thing that Luke didn't look forward to, it was his father-in-law learning that he was once more behind bars. Much like he was the first time that General Hart and he met. Of course he and the general were on much better terms than they had been just a little over a year ago but he had to figure that finding Luke down here in the jail when he arrives for Christmas would be a disappointment to him to say the least. Fortunately, he'll be out of jail before Thomas was scheduled to return to Washington D.C.

Thanks to Luke's ability to keep his mouth shut in court, he'll be walking out of the courthouse on New Year's Eve to at least try to salvage the last of the holiday season with his wife. The price for that luxury, of course, was that he'll be leaving his cousin to serve the remaining ten days behind bars alone.

In the next cell, Bo was flipping through a car magazine that Kim had brought by to help pass the time. He was still upset over the fact that the judge had been so harsh. Here he was, stuck in a jail cell over his first Christmas and New Year's as a married man. Kim was taking it in stride but he knew that she was disappointed. Who wouldn't be?

Kim reminded him, though, that she had been well aware of what she was getting into when she'd married him. Even her uncle, Doctor Irving Appleby, had stopped by the day before after he'd learned of the judge's ruling. They'd both tried to raise his spirits about missing out on the holidays at home but Bo really wasn't ready to be cheered up just yet. The worst part of the whole thing, Bo knew that if he had to trace the blame back to the source, he had to accept a great deal of responsibility. Though the largest portion of that blame had to go to Ernie Leadbetter.

Hearing steps on the metal staircase, Bo looked up to see his cousin's wife and daughter coming down to visit Luke. He watched his cousin move to the front of the cell and greet Jo and fawn over Faith as much as he could through the bars. Especially when it appeared that Faith smiled at him as her mother held her up for Luke.

Bo tried his best to give the small family as much privacy as possible considering that he was less than ten feet away. In the meantime he scanned through the classified section of his magazines. It wasn't exactly how he'd hoped to start looking for a car for Kim to replace her totaled Jeep but it would have to do until he was released on the tenth of January. So far, he'd only seen cars that he knew for certain that he'd never trust to drive his wife around in. Not a single car showed any promise. He just hoped that when he got out of jail he'd have better luck.

On the other side of the jail, Enos reluctantly told Jo that her time was up; she and the little girl would have to go. Luke did his best to kiss both of his visitors goodbye. Bo casually bade them farewell as well and began to wait for his own wife to stroll down the stairs.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight:**

Discussion of wedding plans ran longer than they'd originally planned so Darcy was forced to jet off to the airport rather than heading to town to join his fiancée in telling her cousins of the change in plans as well as the impending birth. He hadn't wanted to send Daisy off on her own but Jesse had assured him that he'd handle the cousins.

Daisy and Jesse hopped out of the Jeep outside of the courthouse just before lunch. Daisy hoped that everything went well with her two jailed cousins since she knew that if she could handle them, her other cousins would be simple to deal with. The two Dukes headed inside as Daisy saw Enos bashfully slip into his patrol car across the street. She knew that she needed to talk to him about her pending marriage but it appeared that she wouldn't be doing it right now. Making a mental note to herself, she promised herself that she'd talk to him as soon as she could.

Once down in the jail, Luke and Bo approached the front of their cells as they saw their kin coming down for a visit. Luke wasn't sure what was going on but the way that Daisy looked to their uncle as she walked up seemed off to him somehow.

"Mornin'."

"Mornin', Luke," Jesse said as he nodded in Bo's direction to greet him as well. "How you boys holdin' up so far?"

"Alright, for right now. But this is goin' to get mighty old before the two weeks is over."

"Try stayin' down here for twenty-five days, instead, Luke."

Luke rolled his eyes he went to answer his cousin, "If you'd kept your big trap shut in court you wouldn't be stuck down here that long. In fact, if you hadn't-"

"Alright, boys. We've all been through that enough. Stop kickin' that dead horse. 'Sides, we came down here to talk to you two about somethin' that's important." Jesse wrapped an arm around Daisy's waist for some support and could feel a slight tremor run through her body as she stood nervously about to tell her cousins what she'd come to say.

"What about?" Bo raised a brow as he waited for one of the others to tell them why they'd come down together.

"Well," Daisy took a deep breath before she continued, "You know how Darcy and I were plannin' our weddin' in June?"

"Yeh." Luke exchanged a look with Bo that clearly said that he was expecting their female cousin to tell them that she'd already picked out their ridiculous suits a full six months early.

"Well, our plans are goin' to have to change just a little bit." Daisy glanced at her uncle who gave her a nod to continue. "Instead, we're goin' to get married on New Year's."

"New Year's?"

"Why the change and so fast?" Both Bo and Luke asked their separate questions in surprise.

"I…uh… Well, we just found out that… Um..." Daisy glanced toward the stairwell to make sure that Rosco wasn't eavesdropping before spitting out, "I'm pregnant."

"Pregnant!" The men shouted in unison.

"Boys, as Daisy said, a June weddin' is out and we're all goin' to stand behind her and Darcy and get this weddin' planned as fast as we can," Jesse interrupted to keep the men from saying anything that could hurt Daisy, even inadvertently.

"Pregnant," Bo said in more of a mutter to himself than anything else. Looking around, he noticed the stark absence of Darcy and had to ask where he was and why he hadn't come with Daisy to tell them.

"He spent the mornin' with me and Jesse discussin' the weddin' but he had to be at the airport by now. He had some flights out of Capital City and he was goin' to go ahead and put in for some time off for the first of the year." Daisy felt better now that she'd told her cousins but she was still waiting for Luke to say something, anything, about her wedding and the pending birth.

Meanwhile Luke was doing his best to not get upset at the fact that his unwed cousin was going to have a baby. Hazzard had been turned upside down with gossip with his and Jo's engagement. Especially once word had gotten around that Jo was pregnant shortly after the planting season had begun. Not to mention that the whole county was still a buzz over Bo's grand engagement of only two weeks. Now with Daisy getting engaged right on the heels of Bo with an engagement not much longer than their younger cousin, some of that talk was bound to rub off onto her.

He knew that he couldn't really judge her since he himself had gotten Jo pregnant before they'd even come to terms with their relationship. At least Daisy was already engaged when she'd learned of her pregnancy. Not to mention Darcy had told him a month ago that he planned to marry Daisy. Still, his initial response mirrored the way that he was sure that Bo would like to do; which just might be a reason that it was good that Darcy wasn't in the jail just now. He wasn't sure that the bars would have been enough to protect the man from the two men before they got control of their emotions.

Finally, Luke spoke up, "With Bo and me in here, how are we supposed to help? I'm not gettin' out 'til New Year's Eve and Bo…" Luke paused as the reminder of his cousin's extended stay caused him to grumble under his breath at the injustice of it all.

"I've already talked to Lulu about all of this. She's goin' to make sure that J.D. will be on board with the plans." Jesse chuckled as he thought back to the woman that he'd known for nearly as long as he had her husband. Of course he hadn't told her of the reason behind the rushed wedding so Lulu found a New Year's wedding to be romantic.

"She knows about… everything?" Luke was surprised that his family would let even the kind and lovable woman in on the secret.

"Well, not everything. We told her that I liked the idea of a new year while bein' a new bride and all." Daisy wished that she had thought of the idea before it had become a necessity but at least Lulu hadn't questioned it when she had heard it. "Darcy and I will get married in the courthouse and Miss Lulu will convince Boss and Rosco to let Bo come upstairs for it."

"But haven't you always wanted to get married at the church?" Luke had listened to his cousin daydream about her wedding for nearly his whole life and no matter what she had changed throughout the years, the church had been the one constant since before she had even started school.

Daisy shrugged before saying, "The only thing that I really have my heart set on is having my favorite people in the whole world there. So, what do you say? Will ya help me make my weddin' everything that I've always hoped that it would be?"

Bo caught his uncle's eye with a look that had a world of meaning behind it. Whether he liked it or not, his cousin was both pregnant and was going to have to get married soon if she wanted to keep the rest of the town from knowing it before the wedding. Stuck behind the bars here at the jail, he didn't know what all anyone thought that he and Luke would be able to do but he went ahead and gave the obligatory nod anyway along with his oldest cousin.

"Good." Daisy gave a sigh of relief as she leaned forward to kiss both men in appreciation. "Now there is one thing that I want to know, Bo."

"What?"

"How did you and Kim get Kira to wear her dress at ya'll's weddin'?" Daisy gave a wink as she already started to think about the finer details of the wedding.

Laughing, Bo answered her, "I'll only tell you if that means that Luke and I won't have to wear pink, too."

"In that case, I'll just go ask Kim, instead." Daisy gave her cousins a wicked grin before she began to fill them in on the plans that they've already come up with.

~01~

Jebb rolled his eyes as he spoke with his mother on the phone. He was trying to get the boys ready to head out for their play group and she was going on and on about wanting him and the boys to come on out to the family farm in Placid early for Christmas. He hadn't planned on leaving out for another week yet, but his mother was insistent that he should load the boys up today and drive on out to the house.

"Mom...Mom!" Jebb shouted trying to get a word in edgewise. "You know that I can't just pick up and head out of town just like that. I have the farm, the boys, not to mention that Bo and Luke are-"

_"Are married and can take care of themselves. And between them and your farm hands, the farm will be fine for a couple of extra days," _Pauline said on the other end of the line. It was then that Jebb remembered that his mother had no clue that his cousins were in jail for Christmas. Well, he certainly wasn't going to be the one to tell her. _"Besides, if you drive on out here before the weekend, you'll even save Kira two very long drives. It's a lot closer to come to Placid from Atlanta then it would be for her to ride out to Hazzard. Especially since you two would just be turning right around and driving here once she got there anyway."_

Jebb couldn't exactly fight that kind of logic. Kira would be doing an awful lot of extra driving. If he drove out to Placid, Kira wouldn't have to drive home this weekend; though Jebb didn't look forward to such a long drive to Placid with the twins alone. Still, with the fellas locked up and all...

"Mom, I'll think about it. Alright. The twins have a party to go to tomorrow, so if anything, the earliest that I can come out is on Thursday," Jebb said.

_"Are you sure that you can't come any sooner?" _Pauline pleaded on her end. She didn't think that she could make it until Thursday to talk face to face with her son.

"I'm sure, Mom. I'll call you tomorrow after I arrange things on this end. Okay?" Jebb then said goodbye to his mother and hung up the phone.

~01~

Kira scrunched her nose as she looked at herself in the mirror. All of her pants were getting tight which meant that she had to go do one of the things that she hated the worst. She needed to go clothes shopping. She just couldn't figure it out. She barely eats anymore, runs every day, and yet, she's gained more than five to six pounds lately; though it looked like more since she'd been retaining a lot of fluid, too.

Kira knew that the moment that she showed up in Placid, Pauline was bound to point out her weight gain. Back when she was pregnant, (before she knew she was having twins) she'd been quick to tell her that she was gaining weight faster than she felt she should have. Then she had been the driving force behind Kira working so hard to lose all of her pregnancy weight as soon as she could. Pauline had been all the motivation that she had needed to put her dieting into high gear nearly two years ago. Now it seemed that she'll need to go on a diet again.

Grabbing her teacup with the tea that Brent had been thoughtful enough to bring her to help her with her weak stomach, Kira flipped the morning news on and saw that there wasn't really anything new going on in the city. Kira wished that she could just call in sick today. Unfortunately, that just wasn't going to happen. If she could just make it another couple of days, Judge Turner will call for a recess for the holidays. Her stomach was just going to have to wait until then to rebel much past the general nauseum that had become her constant early morning companion as of late.

The problem then would be that she would have to survive Christmas and her anniversary with Jebb's mother who liked her slightly better than a case of the mumps. Then if she was lucky, she could go to Hazzard just long enough to celebrate Mikey and Jay's birthdays before she had to return to Atlanta. She and Jebb had a couple of presents for the boys that she hoped would be extra special for the boys. And she didn't intend for Jebb to give them to the twins without her being able to watch their faces when they saw them.

With Christmas just a week away, she'd much rather swap places with her brother in jail than to spend next week trading insults with Pauline. Shoot, compared to a week with Pauline, she'd feel like she was going on a vacation if she was in lock up.

Once her tea was finished, Kira began to head on out of her hotel room to make her way to court; praying the whole time that she wouldn't get sick today in the middle of the proceedings. She was nearly out the door when her phone rang. Groaning since she had wanted to get to court a little early this morning, Kira walked over to answer phone and was surprised to hear her father-in-law on the line.

"John, I wasn't expecting you to call. Is something wrong?"

_"Well, I don't think that there is but I wanted a chance to talk to you before you and Jebb come out for the holidays."_

"You don't _think_ that there is something wrong? So what's going on?"

_"I think I'd better come up to Atlanta. Are you free for lunch?"_

Kira eyed the phone suspiciously. "Sure. Meet me at the courthouse around noon and we can go out as soon as we break for lunch today."

_"I'll see you then."_

With that, John hung up and left Kira very confused and slightly worried about her mysterious call.

~01~

Daisy waited for Jo and Kim at the dress shop so they could pick out the bridesmaids' dresses. Since neither they nor Kira were very handy with the sewing machine nor used to following a pattern, she figured that it'd be easiest to just have the local seamstress make the dresses for the women instead. Not to mention, Daisy doubted that any of the women would have time to make their dresses, anyway. Kim had her work at the clinic and the hospital, Jo had an infant just over a month old who needed her attention, and Kira had her trial going on in Atlanta.

Daisy, however, already had her Aunt Lavinia's dress ready for her wedding. She might need to alter some of the measurements if she started to gain weight before New Year's but for the most part, she had her dress ready to go.

When Jo and Kim got to the shop, the seamstress went right to work with double checking her measurements that she had on file for the two women since she had several women planning to get married within the next month. The woman held her tongue but she secretly wondered if the chestnut-haired Duke had fallen prey to the same reason that the other brides who were rushing down the aisle had. Two of the other women she knew for a fact that they were pregnant and were trying to fudge the date of conception. Not that she really felt that anyone would be fooled. All it would take would be for folks to count backwards to know that there had been an unwanted guest at the parents' wedding.

Kim was the first to be measured and she wasn't surprised that her measurements hadn't changed in the month since her own wedding. Next was Jo's turn and she was pleasantly surprised that she had lost more weight than she'd anticipated. At the last wedding, she'd given birth only two weeks prior and hadn't had that much time to start to get back to her pre-pregnancy weight. Seeing her new measurements gave her a sense of pride at her accomplishment.

After the measurements were taken, the women helped Daisy to choose a pattern that she liked for the dresses before heading down the street to order some simple bouquets of roses and baby's breath for the wedding. Daisy's would be nearly twice the size of her cousins' wives and she would have white ribbon to join the soft pink ribbon that would highlight the flowers. Later, Daisy said goodbye to the other women since they were going to visit with their husbands while the bride went to order a small cake that would be used to celebrate her and Darcy's marriage. It, too, would have a trim of pink along the edges and it would look as if it had a bouquet of roses sitting on top.

With the details taken care of, Daisy was hoping that Lulu had gotten Boss to agree to help with her plans for her wedding.

~01~

Kira packed up her briefcase and walked out of the courtroom and found John waiting for her out in the hall. She quickly joined him and waited for her father-in-law to tell her just why he'd felt the need to drive up from Tranquil County to see her in person. Finally, after the two had been seated at a diner and had their drinks delivered, Kira couldn't hold her curiosity any longer.

"Alright, John. Not that I mind the company but are you ready to tell me what this is all about?"

"Well, it's really nothing but-"

"John, if it was nothing, you wouldn't have called me up and come up here when I know very well that there are things back at the farm that needs to be tended to."

John couldn't help but to chuckle since he could picture his daughter-in-law calling his own son out in much the same way that she was doing to him now.

"Well, coming to town has also given me a chance to buy Pauline's present for Christmas without anyone calling her up and telling her what she's getting before I even get home." Kira laughed at the example of just one peril of living in a small, close-knit, community. Tranquil was a lot like Hazzard in that respect. One just about couldn't sneeze without someone across town knowing about it. "But to be honest, I wanted to see how you were. Jebb seemed to be worried about you getting sick the other day and-"

Kira rolled her eyes since she was really didn't think that she needed anyone else taking it upon themselves to watch after her health. "John, I've just had a touch of the stomach bug. It's nothing major; really."

"Well, I kind of figured that and I know that you're old enough to take care of yourself and all but like I said, I know that Jebb was worried. In fact, he'd sounded so worried that Pauline came up the other day to check on you."

"Pauline?" Kira looked confused for a moment. "I don't remember seein' Pauline here in Atlanta."

"I know. She told me that you didn't." John saw Kira's face darken just a bit and blew out a breath before he continued, "She said that you were with a friend and were leaving the hotel-"

"Brent," Kira said matter-of-factly as she crossed her arms and leaned back to stare at her father-in-law.

"Probably. Now I told her that she was getting bent out of shape for nothin' but you know how once she has a notion in her mind that it's hard to convince her that she might have mistaken what she saw. I told her that she ought to come and talk to you about it bu-"

"But she's already jumped to the conclusion that I'm cheating on Jebb," Kira finished for John. "Well, what about you?"

Raising his hands in his own defense, John was quick to say, "I think that if you had been you'd be looking guilty rather than pissed at the moment. I wasn't about to jump on Pauline's bandwagon without at least talking to you first."

Kira worked her jaw a bit as she tried to figure out just what to say. She was glad that John had at least come to speak with her and share his concerns but at the same time the fact that he'd seemed to be so wary about breaching the subject with her made her think that he had at least some doubt.

"I appreciate that," Kira finally said while trying to force herself to relax. "And since you came all of the way up here, you might as well as know that Jebb knows about Brent. I've been friends with him for years and we both used to ride together back when I was in college. In fact, I have a sneaky suspicion that Jebb called Brent to ask him to keep an eye on me while I'm in town. So, no, Jebb wouldn't have a problem with knowing that I went out to eat with him the other night."

John began to smile since hearing his daughter-in-law being so blunt with him made him feel so much better. "I knew that it had to be something like that. I've never seen two people that belonged together more than you and Jebb so the idea that something could be wrong like this just didn't jive."

Kira returned his smile weakly since she knew that John really had tried to give her the benefit of the doubt; even if Pauline hadn't.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine:**

"No. Absolutely not." Boss puffed on his cigar as his wife droned on about Daisy Duke's wedding. How in the world she'd gotten drawn into it, he'll never know. Why should he have to change his schedule up just for a Duke?

"J.D.! You are goin' to do this for that girl or…or…" Lulu looked around the house as if looking for inspiration before glaring at her husband. "Or we'll be sharin' a refrigerator!"

"Sharin'? Now that ain't fair!"

"It's the weddin' or the refrigerator," Lulu said as she crossed her arms. "So what's it goin' to be?"

Boss grumbled under his breath, not liking his options.

~01~

Kira laid down on the bed and kicked off her shoes as she waited for Jebb to pick up the phone. She was still ready to fume over the fact that Pauline had jumped to conclusions when she'd seen her out. Still, at least John had clued her in on what was going on.

When Jebb picked up the phone, he sounded exhausted after a day of taking care of their twins. He told Kira of the Christmas party that they would be going to the next day and he lightly complained that she wasn't there to take them instead since spending an afternoon with a dozen toddlers wasn't exactly his idea of a fun day.

"Oh, and I suppose you think that its mine instead?" Kira laughed as she listened to Jebb then go on to tell how they'd gone tree shopping and put the decorations up in the living room. He told her how most of them ended up at about knee level since he'd let the boys put the garland, ornaments, and bows up wherever they wanted. He didn't have the heart to move anything that they'd taken such pride in hanging up. "I'll have to make sure to make a big deal over it all when I come home Friday."

_"Um, about Friday,"_ Jebb knew that his wife wasn't going to like the change in plans for the weekend but he had told his mother that he'd head on up to Placid early this year.

"Yes?"

_"I got a call from my mother and she convinced me that it'd be better if the boys and I head on up early. She pointed out that it'd save you a long drive just to have to drive back out anyway."_

"Oh she did, did she?"

_"She was pretty insistent that I should go home as soon as I could."_

Kira sat up and frowned since she knew the reason that her mother-in-law wanted Jebb to go back to Placid alone before Christmas. "And I'm pretty sure that I know the reason that she was so insistent, too."

_"Oh yeh?"_

"Your father came to Atlanta and we had lunch today."

_"Pop came up to Atlanta?"_

"Yes and he told me that your mother has it in her head that I'm up here runnin' around on you."

_"What? Where'd she ever get a half-crazed idea like that?"_

"I'll tell you where. Someone asked her to come to Atlanta without tellin' me that she was comin' and she saw me leavin' the hotel with Brent. That's where she got that idea."

_"Oh."_ Jebb didn't know if he should apologize to his wife for sending his mother to check on her after she'd left Hazzard more than just a little under the weather or if he should bust out laughing at the absurdity of the idea of Kira going out with Brent behind his back. In fact, a call to his mother hadn't been the only one that he'd made on Monday. Brent had told Jebb that Kira had been hiding the fact that she hadn't felt quite right for nearly the entire time that she'd been out of town.

"I can't believe that you sicced your mom on me just over a stomach bug."

_"Hey, I was worried about you. You're a lawyer, sue me,"_ Jebb teased his wife since the only way he was going to stay out of the dog house was to try to make her laugh. Fortunately, it must have worked since she only groaned lightly at his joke before she went in to tell him everything that she'd learned from John. Shaking his head, he just couldn't figure how his mother could have jumped to such a wild conclusion.

~01~

Daisy leaned back on the couch as she told Darcy just how telling the men in the jail about the change in plans had gone. He was glad that neither of the men had reacted badly to their cousin when they learned of the reason behind the alterations to the wedding plans but he had the feeling that he might not be so lucky once he went to see them for himself alone. After leaving the jail, Daisy and Jesse met with Jeb, Jo, and Kim and told them of the new plans as well.

From there the women had gone over to the dress shop and picked out the bridesmaid's dresses. After telling of the dresses that Daisy had picked for the other women she then went on to tell of going over to the bakery to pick out a cake for the small reception. During the telling, there was something that bothered Darcy. After a few moments, Daisy looked up and saw a look on her fiancé's face that told her that something was wrong so she asked him about it.

"You said that you picked out the other's dresses, what about yours?"

"Oh, I plan to wear my Aunt Lavinia's dress. I already know that it fits perfectly and-"

"Isn't that the dress that you planned to get married to Enos in?"

Daisy paused as she gave Darcy a questioning look. "Well, yes… but we didn't actually get married then… You don't want me to wear my aunt's dress, do you?"

Darcy chewed on the inside of his cheek as he tried to figure out a way to answer her without sounding like an ass. "Daisy, you planned to marry another man in that dress. What if I'd given you a ring that I'd bought for another woman as your engagement ring? You wouldn't feel right with that would you?"

"A ring is different," Daisy insisted even as she heard how lame it sounded on her own ears.

Instead of responding, Darcy just raised a brow and waited for her to follow up her explanation on how the two were not on the same level. Instead Daisy blew out a breath since she realized that Darcy was right. She hadn't thought about how using the same dress for both ceremonies might not sit well with her soon-to-be husband. Especially since she hadn't actually walked down the aisle at her first wedding. But he was right, she would have thrown a fit if she'd been given a used ring as an engagement ring.

"I'll go to the store tomorrow and see if there is a dress I like that won't take too much alterin'. If not I'll run by the fabric store and just run up a dress myself. One made just for our weddin'."

Darcy hugged her just a bit closer and kissed the top of her head in appreciation. If Daisy had been insistent on using her aunt's dress, he would have given in. He was just glad that he hadn't had to. They deserved to start off their marriage without shadows or echoes from their past relationships haunting them. Their wedding day should only be about them, no one else.

~01~

Kim scrunched her brows as she read the lab report on Mrs. Miller's blood that she'd drawn after bringing her to town to stay until she was back up on her feet. The paperwork suggested that the old widow hadn't been taking her medication for her heart for at least a month but she knew for a fact that she had been. Kim had been making a special effort to see the woman herself at least three times a week and would give Mrs. Miller her pills before she left out each time. There was no way that her trough levels should be so low.

Reaching for her phone, Kim called over to the hospital to arrange transportation for the old woman. She needed to be admitted right away to get her back up to safe levels. She only wished that she knew how they could have dropped down while still taking the proper medications.

~01~

The next couple of days were busy with getting most of the plans together for the wedding. Jebb and Kira would return the day after Christmas from Placid to help with the final touches but that would leave just under one week for the seamstress to sew Kira's dress. As a result, she was forced to use the measurements that she had all hand from the last wedding just a month before.

By Thursday night, it was time to load up the twins and head back to his folks' home in Placid. Fortunately, his father did give him a bit of advice before Jebb agreed to leave early for the weekend. Only venture out for that long of a car ride alone once the boys were asleep. Christmas wasn't until Wednesday but there was plenty to do with the family between now and then. With both boys buckled into their seats in the back of the car, each with a juice cup and were sleepy since it was well past their bedtimes, it was nearly a certainty that both of the twins would be asleep before the family car got out of Hazzard.

When Jebb showed up at his parents' house, everyone was in bed just as expected. Jebb left the luggage in the car and just hauled the twins in and took them up to his old room. He put the boys in one of the old twin beds. It was up against the wall so Jebb figured that all he had to do was just slide the other single bed over up against theirs. Then he wouldn't have to worry about them rolling onto the floor. One thing was certain, though, it was going to be rough with both him and Kira up here along with the boys. They were a lot bigger than the last time the four of them had all come to Placid.

Maybe he should ask about using Karen's old room for the boys while they were up for Christmas. After all, Karen lived in Tranquil (the county seat which was only about twenty minutes away as the Duke drives) so she hadn't used it in years.

Exhausted, Jebb collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep in his clothes.

The next morning, Jebb was awakened by Mikey pushing on him. He was ready to get up and his father was blocking his way. Reluctantly, Jebb crawled on out of bed and moved the pillows around to make sure that Jay wouldn't roll off of the bed onto the floor. He carried Mikey on downstairs and headed to the table where his mother was already putting breakfast out for the family.

"Mornin'," Jebb muttered as he sat down with Mikey on his lap and he started to put a couple pieces of bacon on the plate in front of him along with some scrambled eggs.

"Where's Jay?" Pauline asked as she set a bowl of grits onto the table.

"He's still asleep," Jebb said with a shrugged.

"Do you really think that's wise? Letting him sleep so long."

"He always sleeps longer than Mikey. If he gets up now, he'll be whiney most of the morning," Jebb replied to his mother. He could tell that his mother still didn't approve of him letting his youngest sleep in a bit but Jebb knew what worked best for his kids. "Mom, I was goin' to ask ya somethin'. I was thinkin' that maybe we could set Karen's old room up for the boys."

Pauline couldn't help the slight, sad smile. She'd been thinking along the same lines though for different reasons, she was sure, than why Jebb was suggesting it.

"We could do that. The boys do need a room of their own. We can go shopping after Christmas-"

"Mom, you know that Kira and I will be taking the boys home right after Christmas," Jebb said as he fed Mikey some grits while balancing the toddler on his lap. He wasn't sure if anyone had filled his mother in on Daisy's hurried wedding but he wasn't about to be the one to tell her about it.

"About that..." Pauline said as she eyed her grandson. Pauline asked her daughter as she took her own plate to the sink. "Emma, could you take your nephew from your brother?"

Jebb gave his younger sister a questioning look to which she just shrugged and took her brother's oldest son from him. Jebb then stood up and followed his mother to the pantry.

"Something on your mind?" Jebb asked as he hopped up on the counter in the pantry. Pauline gave her son a disapproving look which caused Jebb to go ahead and hop back down.

"I wanted to talk to you about Kira."

Jebb closed his eyes as he braced himself what his mother was about to say about his wife this time. Fortunately, he already had a pretty good idea what it was going to be thanks to his father's visit to Kira earlier in the week.

"When you called Monday night, you said Kira was sick."

"Yeh?" Jebb asked knowing what his mother was getting at but figured he'd play along. "So?"

"Well, I went to Atlanta and saw her after I got off of the phone with you, Monday."

"Kira didn't tell me that she saw you this week," Jebb scrunched his brows together as he spoke, trying to look confused.

"Well, I saw her, she didn't see me," Pauline said a bit self-righteously.

"I don't understand."

"I got to Kira's hotel just as she was heading out for the evening," Pauline said as if that was everything that needed to be said.

"So she was going out. Maybe she didn't want to eat hotel food for dinner," Jebb replied logically.

"Jebb, I don't know how to say this..." Pauline said as she looked into her son's eyes. "She... She wasn't alone," Pauline said tentatively.

"What?"

"I saw Kira leaving her hotel and get into a car with another man Monday night. She didn't look sick to me, either," Pauline said as she moved forward a bit to console her son that looked so confused.

"Come on, Mom. Kira ain't seein' no one else. Kira just wouldn't do something like that."

"Really? Then let me ask you a few questions. Like are you and Kira still spendin' as much time together as you usually do?"

"You know that she's been in Atlanta working a lot, Mom," Jebb muttered to his mother suddenly not sure if he should let his mother keep going down this road of hers after all.

"But when she's home, Jebb. Has she been locking herself away in that office of hers; maybe, until all hours of the night?"

"She's had a big case load lately. She has to prepare," Jebb said in defense of his absent wife.

"I see," Pauline said doubtful. "So that would be a yes to the fact that she is making less time for you?" Jebb glared at his mother for insinuating that Kira could be anything less than true to him. "Alright, well then has she been picking any fights lately, acting moody? Have you noticed her wearing clothes that you didn't know she had?"

"She has to wear different clothes to court, Mom," Jebb said.

"What about phone calls, has she been closing the door to her office when she's on the phone."

"Mom, if Kira was talking on the phone to a lover, don't you think it'd be all over Hazzard before she even hung up? That's not something that Maybelle would let slide."

"Well, you could at least go to Atlanta and see for yourself. I'd be willing to bet that you'll catch her with that cop since she doesn't know that you're in the area."

"Cop?" Jebb asked then after a couple of seconds, trying not to bust out laughing, Jebb figured that he'd give his mother what she thought she wanted; for a moment. "I've always known that those two were too close."

Pauline could feel her jaw go slack as she watched her son connect the dots that she'd so desperately drawn for him. She hated that it would hurt him so much but it was something that had to be done. Much like ripping off a bandage after it had been on for too long. "So you know who he is?"

Jebb nodded and bit the inside of his cheek while wishing he'd set up a video camera for this so Kira and he could have enjoyed watching it later on. "Kira's known him since college. Well, I guess there's only one thing left for me to do."

"What's that?"

"Pack the kids up and move back home and let Kira and Brent have the house."

Pauline wanted to shout out, _Exactly! _Her boy had always been too good for that girl anyway. And to think that her son has wasted three years being married to her, it was almost too much to even think about. Pauline went over to her son and put a comforting hand on his shoulder as she said, "You know you and the boys will always have a home here, Jebb."

"Of course I'm sure that if Brent moves to Hazzard, Kevin will want to go, too."

"Kevin? Who's this Kevin?" Jebb leaned over about to ruin the whole effect by laughing his head off. Luckily, Pauline thought that his chest was heaving from crying rather than trying to hold back the chuckles.

"Kevin is Brent's live-in boyfriend. Though I'm not sure that Hazzard is ready for an openly gay couple. They should all make for interesting trio there in Hazzard," Jebb stood up and openly laughed now as he wiped an honest tear from his eye. One brought on from holding back for so long.

"What is so funny? What do you mean by… How do you know that this Brent is… He was out with your wife, Jebb!"

"I know that she ain't his type because Brent tried to pick me up the first time I met him." Jebb couldn't help the grin of satisfaction that crossed his face as his mother's face reflected just how horrified she was at the mere thought of another man putting the moves on her little boy.

"Are you sayin'...that Kira associates with ... those kinds of people?" Pauline said not being able to say the words.

"Just because Brent's gay don't make him a bad person, Mom. He'd do anything for Kira if she asked him to. Trust me, if something was going to happen between them, it would have been long before now," Jebb said as he got ready to head back out into the kitchen.

"Jebb, you could at least go and see for yourself. What if it isn't this pervert of Kira's that I saw."

Jebb rolled his eyes. "I tell ya what; I will head to Atlanta right after lunch. That way I'll still get to court before Kira leaves for the day."

By this time, John came in from checking on the animals and realized that despite his suggestion to see if Kira could explain herself to his wife's satisfaction, Pauline had voiced her concerns to their son. And this was after he'd gone to speak with his daughter-in-law where she'd convinced him that they really didn't have anything to worry about. By looking at Jebb's face, John felt that Kira's explanation on how Brent was an old friend whom Jebb likely had asked to watch after her while in Atlanta was dead on.

"Pop, the boys will be fine with you and Mom won't they? If I'm goin' to Atlanta, I don't see no reason to rush back. Kira and I will come home in the morning," Jebb said as he sat down to finish his breakfast that he'd been sharing with his son before he'd gotten interrupted.

"I don't see why they wouldn't be. You and Kira take your time," John said as he looked back and forth between his wife and son. Something told him that he'd missed an awful lot this morning.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten:**

Jo waited at the gate for her father just a bit nervous. She wasn't sure just what he was going to say when he learned that Lukas was in jail for a barroom fight but she had a pretty good idea that it wouldn't be good. She just hoped that having Faith here with her would help keep him from completely blowing his top.

Standing by the stroller, Jo saw her father among the other travelers so she waved him over. With his bags in hand, the general quickly made his way to his daughter and granddaughter and gave both of them hugs as he glanced around while looking for his son-in-law.

"Where's Luke? Didn't he come with you?"

"Actually, no, he didn't."

"He didn't? Why not?"

Jo leaned over to put the infant back into the stroller as she mentally steeled herself for her father's reaction to learning of just why Lukas wasn't with her to pick him up. "Dad, I think I'd better talk to you about that as we head to the car."

Thomas gave his daughter a dubious look before grabbing his bags and followed her to where Joanna had parked the Mustang.

~01~

Daisy cleared some tables as the lunch rush began to wind down a bit and looked up as she saw Enos walking in and head over to the bar to take a seat where he usually did. Knowing that she really couldn't put off talking to him any longer, Daisy went over to take his order.

"Hey, Enos. I haven't seen you in here very much, lately." Daisy took a bar rag to wipe down the counter as she spoke, mainly to give her something to do. "Not for the last week, at least."

Enos looked around bashfully before lowering his eyes to the bar. "I… uh… I've just been busy, Daisy. You know, with the fellas at the jail and all."

"Yeh, havin' the others in there could keep ya a little busy. Listen, I've been wantin' to talk to you. I know that I should have said something to you about the engagement before word got out," Daisy said quickly before she lost her nerve. "I just didn't want to see you hurt, none. You've known that I've been seein' Darcy for a long time and, well, it only feels right to marry him. I've always been very fond of you but I really love Darcy. You understand, don't you?"

Enos looked down at his cup of cocoa for a few minutes before he answered. "Daisy, all I've ever wanted was for you to be happy. I'm sorry that I wasn't the one that could do that for ya, but I am glad that you found someone who could."

Daisy smiled widely and reached out to pull Enos into a tight hug, "I knew you'd understand."

"I know that Darcy's a good man, Daisy. He'll take real good care of you," Enos said as Daisy released him from her death grip.

"I know that, too. Now, how about I get you your lunch now?"

"Sure thing, Daisy," Enos said while trying to be happy for the only woman that he'd ever wanted to love.

~01~

Thomas had ridden to town with his daughter when she took Faith in to the clinic for a checkup. While Joanna was busy inside, the general decided to walk down the street to speak to his son-in-law about getting himself locked up over the holidays. When he was let downstairs by one of the deputies in town, he immediately walked over to stand in front of his daughter's husband's cell and crossed his arms and waited for the explanation that he shouldn't even have to ask for.

"General," Luke greeted his father-in-law with a nod as he felt an eerie case of _déjà vu._ It had been just over a year since the two had met for the first time and it had been under similar circumstances. Once again, he was locked away after being involved in a barroom fight and the older man had come looking for him down in the cool jail cell.

"When Joanna told me what happened, I didn't want to believe her. Surely the man who had stood before God and everyone else to promise to take care of her hadn't left my daughter alone at home with a one month old simply because you couldn't fight the urge to have a little fun at the local bar again. But here you are, caged up once more. Care to explain yourself?"

"General, believe me, this isn't how I planned to spend Christmas. Obviously, things got out of hand."

"I'll say they did. You and your cousin there getting locked up for beatin' a man to a pulp; or is it alright for two men here in Hazzard to knock the hell out of a third man," Hart narrowed his eyes.

"It wasn't anything like that! Luke was trying to stop me and Ernie, he wasn't fightin'," Bo said as he leaned against the cell bars.

"Then why is it that he was arrested along with you and this other man?" Thomas turned away from Luke and bore a hole into the imprisoned blond.

"Because Boss and Rosco don't pass on any opportunity to lock up a Duke. That's why," Bo snickered. "Ask anybody in town. Go on. There ain't nearly a body in Hazzard who won't tell ya how things really are around here. Rosco ain't nothin' but Boss's stooge. He does whatever Boss tells him to do. Go and talk to the merchants in town. Any one of them will-"

"Bo, that's enough," Luke said quietly from his own cell.

"You honestly expect me to believe that the law in this town is crooked?" Thomas asked but never got an answer because at that moment, Lulu and her brother were coming down the stairs and were arguing the whole time.

"Now Lulu, I don't think the Boss is goin' to like this none," Rosco said as he stepped out of the way as Cletus came down the stairs behind him carrying a large box.

"You leave J.D. to me," Lulu responded to Rosco then turned to the men behind the bars. "Howdy, Boys!"

"Well hello there, Miss Lulu. You're lookin' mighty fine this mornin'," Luke said politely to the commissioner's wife. He eyed Lulu's green dress with red Christmas flowers. "And festive, too."

"Why thank ya, Luke. I got this dress especially for Christmas," Lulu did a turn to show off her dress.

"It sure looks awfully nice on ya, Miss Lulu," Bo grinned as the kind large woman showed off for the fellas. "What cha' got in the box?"

"Oh, I figured that I'd spruce things up a bit down here since you poor boys are stuck in here over the holidays," Lulu said as looked to the general and offered her hand to the man. "Oh, where are my manners. I'm Lulu Hogg. And you are?"

"I'm Joanna's father, you can call me Thomas."

"Joanna? Oh, you're Jo's daddy! Well, you must be so pleased that she married such an upstandin' fella like Luke," Lulu giggled as she turned to sort through the box that Cletus had clumsily put on the nearby desk.

"Well, I-" Thomas started but the woman continued before he could disagree on the fact of whether or not Luke was all that upstanding.

"Rosco, I need that other box from my car and we need to bring it down here," Lulu said as she sorted through the decorations that she'd brought with her.

"Lulu, I still say that the Boss won't like this," Rosco said as he pulled out a string of lights that he seemed to get tangled up in immediately.

"You let me worry about that. Now, there's a tree that needs to come down here, too."

"What! G-jit! Absolutely not. I have to draw the line right here, Lulu. I can't havin' you decoratin' a Christmas tree for prisoners," Rosco said firmly as both Duke Boys watched on in amusement. Meanwhile, Thomas was a bit dumb-founded by the exchange.

"Oh poo! Well they wouldn't have ended up prisoners if you didn't arrest them nice boys every time they sneezed." Lulu used some garland to smack her brother with it. "Now that tree might be too much for you to manage. You may need to take some help on up there with you," Lulu said as her face brightened up. "How about you Bo? Would you mind dragging that thing down here?"

"No, no, no, no! No! He's in lock up and is stayin' in that cell. Now, Lulu, you've gone too far. You're steppin' all over on my authority here."

"I'd be happy to help ya, Miss Lulu. If I could," Bo smirked. Watching Lulu bossing Rosco around was the most fun he'd had since he'd gotten locked up.

"Well ya can't! So don't be gettin' no ideas there, Bo Duke," Rosco said glaring at him.

"Rosco, either you unlock that cell, or I will. Besides, he's only going as far as upstairs to get the tree."

"That's what you think. These Dukes are slippery critters. You let one out, they'll both be out of here and I'll have my hide nailed to the wall," Rosco said with his hands on his hips.

"Fiddlesticks, Bo, you tell him that you ain't goin' nowhere," Lulu said as she snatched the keys from her brother.

"On my word as a Duke, ma'am," Bo grinned as he watched Rosco's eyes bug out as Lulu opened his cell.

"That's good enough for me," Lulu said with a smile. "Cletus, I need you to fetch the other box of decorations, so you go on and get." Lulu then led her helpers back upstairs while Rosco was fussing the whole time.

"I'll admit," Thomas said once he was once again alone with his daughter's husband. "That was a bit of an unusual exchange."

"All just par for the course here in Hazzard," Luke smirked. Sobering a bit, he then straightened and looked back to his father-in-law. "General, trust me when I tell you that this isn't what I want for my little girl. I've been kicking myself harder than you ever could all week. I'm not going to try to change your mind about me. I know that coming from the outside, there just ain't no way to fully understand the way things are here in Hazzard. But don't ever doubt my devotion to my wife and daughter. I may fail them from time to time, but I will always do everything I can to provide for them."

Thomas cocked a brow at Luke and remembered a similar confrontation over a year ago. "I've said this before, Son. You've got balls. I'll give ya that much. You've got balls."

Thomas wasn't given anytime to go on since Bo was coming back down with the rest of the decorating committee. Bo stood the large tree that Lulu had purchased for the lower jail into the stand and saw to it that the tree was straight before going back to the cell and pulled the door closed behind him as he continued to smile as Lulu started to give the staff directions on where everything else was to go. Cletus was downstairs bouncing around while Enos was upstairs doing his best to follow his orders as well. Rosco, meanwhile, seemed like he just didn't know what to do.

~01~

Kira looked at her watch and saw that if she wanted to get to the small natural foods store that sold the herbal tea that she'd been using to help settle her stomach lately, she needed to get moving. She had begun to use the herbal tea after Brent and Kevin had given her some when they knew that she'd been getting sick a lot. Considering how sick she'd been this week, Kira figured that she'd better get some extra tea before heading out to Placid. Nearly a whole week in the same house as Pauline was bound to push her to her limits.

Lovely.

On her walk out of the courthouse, Kira saw her friend Brent heading her way. Kira smiled at him as she headed his way.

"Alright, I'm signed up to take the sergeant's exam next month."

"You'll pass it with no problem," Kira said as she grinned.

"You getting ready to head out?" Brent asked since he knew that his long-time friend needed to get home to her family in Hazzard.

"Just as soon as I make a stop at that little shop that you showed me the other day."

"That tea helping any?" Brent asked. His boyfriend had recommended an herbal tea to help Kira with her nausea so he'd taken her some to her hotel Monday night. Brent then made sure that she knew where she could get more.

"Helps enough to get through court at least. I better get going before they close. I'd hate to miss them. I'm out until the sixth. Judge Turner likes his Christmas Break. He doesn't plan to interrupt it for anything."

"Lucky you. At least you get two whole weeks with your family."

"Not so lucky. I get to spend nearly half of that time under the same roof as my mother-in-law. I do get to go home for my boys' birthdays, though. But from tonight to next Thursday, I'll be trying to avoid killing Jebb's mother."

"I'll be sure to keep my ear to the ground for any word out of Placid then. Just promise me if that nausea doesn't go away that you'll check in with a doctor." Kira rolled her eyes. She hated that folks always worried about the slightest stomach ache simply because she'd been so sick in the past. "If you don't, I might call Jebb."

"Don't bother. He saw that I was sick Monday morning," Kira muttered. "Don't ask," Kira added when Brent raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I doubt that he knows that you've been sick for nearly the whole month."

"It's just stress," Kira said as she tried to convince her long-time friend. "Besides, didn't Kevin diagnose it as being _Love Sick_ since I'm not used to bein' away from Jebb and the boys so much no more?"

"And here I didn't think that you were the type that went in for roses and romantic notions," Brent belted out as he gave Kira a hug and wished her a Merry Christmas.

As Brent left, Kira pulled her shoulder bag around and started to dig around in it to make sure that she had everything that she needed before heading out. That was how Jebb found her when he approached his wife wanting to surprise her. He walked over to Kira and slipped an arm around her waist. A bad move considering she wasn't expecting him. Jebb got a sharp elbow to the ribs then before he knew it, his arm was twisted behind his back and he got a face full of the brick wall.

"Well, at least I know you haven't lost your touch," Jebb choked out after having the breath knocked out of him.

"Jebb?" Kira said in surprise as she saw some court officers heading her way. They must be thinking that he was harassing her. Kira released Jebb and motioned to the officers that she was alright. "What are you doing here?" Kira asked as she hugged her husband. She'd missed him this week.

"I figured that I'd save you a drive out to my parents' place for the night. With everything else goin' on in the next two weeks; between havin' to bunk in with the boys at my folks' house, then getting Daisy's wedding together and all…" He shrugged lightly as he finished, "I just figured that tonight might be the only time that we'll get to have some time to ourselves."

"Where are Mikey and Jay, now?"

"With Mom and Pop," Jebb replied. "So, what do you say? Disappear for the night instead of heading on out to Placid?"

Given the choice between spending the night with her husband at the hotel or with him in his old childhood bedroom, there really wasn't much to debate. Forgetting the tea that she'd hoped to go buy, Kira headed off to the parking garage with Jebb and planned to enjoy her time with him while she could.

~01~

Kim packed up for the end of the day and decided to take a few files home with her to keep her busy until nightfall. She couldn't explain it but something felt wrong to her lately.

First Mrs. Miller and her health declining despite the fact that her medication had kept her condition under control for years, then she totaled up the number of women who had come in to the clinic pregnant in the last couple of weeks. All of whom had been on birth control for years. How had that many women beaten the odds of the pills' effectiveness? In addition, there were a few others who had come in for various complaints who were all on medication that should have had them under control.

If she didn't know better, she'd have thought that everyone in town had suddenly just stopped taking any of their medication. Birth control, blood pressure, anti-depressants, even sleeping pills. It was as if all of them had just stopped working for the people of Hazzard.

Making a mental note to talk to Russell over at the pharmacy the next day, Kim locked up the clinic and walked down the street to the garage where she'd parked the General Lee. She figured that Bo and Luke would feel better if they could see their beloved car while she was in town. Plus, it gave her a chance to catch a glimpse at her husband and wave to him each evening before she went home for the night.

Of course she still wasn't used to having to make rounds in the race car but considering that she and Bo hadn't gone shopping for a new car for her to replace her totaled Jeep yet, she'd just have to make do for just a while longer.

Looking across the street at the jail, Kim caught a glance of Bo through the small window in his cell. She blew him a kiss before climbing into the orange stock car and headed home.

~01~

Daisy turned the sewing machine off and lifted her dress, or the part of it that she'd finished so far, and eyed it carefully. She had decided to make her dress look as close to her aunt's as possible with just a little bit of modern flair. She'd even splurged just a bit on the material since she figured that for such a special occasion and the fact that she'd only get married once she should make her dress truly memorable. And who knows, she might be passing this dress down to her own daughter one day.

Taking the bodice, Daisy slipped it on real quick to see if she needed to make any adjustments before she continued. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Daisy got a dreamy look in her eyes as she began to imagine her wedding in only a week and a half. True, it wouldn't be the wedding that she'd always planned but it would be a small price to pay to finally be getting married to a man she loves and having a baby on the way. At least she could still have her uncle give her away and her cousins would be there with her to make it as perfect of a day as possible.

"Daisy," Darcy knocked on the door to the spare room as he called her name. "I thought we were goin' out tonight."

"Don't come in here!" Daisy shouted as she tugged the bodice off and hid it under the rest of the material that was sitting on the bed in the room. "You can't see the dress until our weddin'."

"Then come on out so I won't have to come in to get you," Darcy joked. "I'm hungry and ready to go."

"I'm comin'." Daisy checked her makeup and hair before slipping out of the room, taking great care not to open the door wide enough for Darcy to take a glimpse in to see what progress she'd made on her wedding dress. "Honestly, you'd think that you haven't eaten in a week the way you're carryin' on."

Daisy teased her soon-to-be husband as they headed out. She knew that time together would be scarce after tonight until their wedding since he'd traded some flights with some of the other pilots so that he could get some time off for their honeymoon. But at least she knew that once they were married they'd have all the time in the world together.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven:**

Kim locked the door to the clinic after checking on a few things in town. She'd already gone to see Bo for her daily allotted visit for the day. When she had gotten to the courthouse earlier, she was surprised by the fact that there seemed to have been a complete transformation inside since she'd come by yesterday afternoon. There was a tree in the process of being decorated by Enos while the rest of the upper courthouse was covered from floor to ceiling with garland and ornaments. The lower jail was decorated in much the same way. She'd passed Lulu as she left out and thanked the plump woman for thinking of the men while they spent their holidays in jail.

When she headed out of town, she passed Jo's car so she knew that Luke would be getting his visit soon enough. Kim was near the Duke Farm when she got a call on the CB asking her to check on a patient on the other side of the county so she turned her car around. Kim figured that since she was on her own today, she might as well as stay busy; hoping that she could wear herself out today to the point that she could go back to her own home today and be too exhausted to be spooked by any of the noises from the woods. After all, she was a grown woman and there was no reason why she couldn't stay by herself. Ted was still locked safely away behind bars in the state prison. With Jo's father out at the house, Kim felt it was just time to go home.

Smiling to herself, maybe she could ask Jo if she'd like to go for a run together later on. She knew that Jo was doing her best to get down to her pre-pregnancy weight. Jo went for a run nearly every morning before Luke was locked up then again in the afternoon. Without Luke home, though, that had gone by the wayside. Maybe while out checking on her patients, Kim might head over to Capital City and look into getting Jo a jogging stroller for Christmas. That way Faith could go along with her mother on the runs.

~01~

Jesse looked down at the scrap of paper that Bo had given him when he'd gone in to see the boys earlier in the day. Part of him was proud of the fact that his nephew had taken the time to put in some real thought on his wife's Christmas present. Her ex-husband had destroyed her violin years ago which had left her without an instrument. Bo wanted to return to Kim what Ted had taken from her so he'd saved up the last bit of his winnings from the last racing season to buy a new one.

On the other hand, Jesse was slightly irritated that his nephew had waited until the last minute to pick the present up. Which meant that since he was now locked up, the only way that the present would be under the tree for Christmas would be for him to pick it up for his jailed boy and put it there himself.

Luke, however, hadn't gone shopping yet so he'd been regulated to asking Enos to let him use the phone to talk to the service clerk at the department store to help him with ideas for his presents for both his wife and daughter and hope that the woman had similar tastes to Jo. Ordinarily he'd send Daisy but with her being busy with planning her wedding, he hadn't wanted to bother her.

Now Jesse was on his way to retrieve the presents for his nephews. He just hoped that this would be the only time that his nephews were foolish enough to get themselves locked up over the holidays.

~01~

Jebb gripped the steering wheel as he thought over the morning that he'd spent with his wife. He wasn't sure if he should take it as an insult or not considering that she'd gotten sick in the middle of their lovemaking.

The New Year was always met with a bit of fear since that was the usual time for Kira to see her oncologist. This meant that as the holidays neared, Jebb subconsciously began to search for any indication that when they got the results from the yearly tests that they'd be anything but positive. Not to mention that ever since the boys were born she'd been having to see other specialists as well. He thought about all that he'd seen in the last couple of weeks.

Kira had been nauseated, a bit moody, and he knew from their night out last weekend at the Boar's Nest that she seemed to go to the bathroom more often than she usually does. He'd also noticed that she seemed to tire a bit easier than usual. Heck, she'd even fallen asleep with the boys last weekend and she never did that. She wouldn't even take a nap when she was pregnant unless he forced her to. As they'd gotten dressed before heading out, he'd even noticed that he must have bruised her last night while he was making love to her. She always bruised easily due to her light skin but he hadn't thought that he'd been that rough with her last night.

Putting all the symptoms together, Jebb started to feel a cold knot in the pit of his stomach. There were two instances that had given Kira similar problems to what she had now. One was when she was pregnant. Ironically, she hadn't suspected that she was pregnant at all. She'd thought that the blood cancer that she'd already had two battles with had returned. Jebb figured that since he'd taken it upon himself to make sure that she couldn't get pregnant again by having a vasectomy that only left the other unpleasant option as the possible reason for her being so sick.

Jebb made a mental note to watch his wife a bit closer while she wasn't working over the holidays. Then he'd best call the specialist and double check just when Kira's appointment was. Maybe even see if he could get it upped from the end of January.

When the couple arrived at Jebb's parents, they found the boys were in the kitchen where Pauline was making gingerbread cookies with them. The moment that they saw their parents, though, the cookies were left forgotten.

Kira caught the glare that Pauline gave her so she just gave her a false smile that let her mother-in-law know exactly what she really thought of her latest meddling. She wasn't going to light into the older woman in front of her kids but she wasn't about to just forget that Pauline had accused her of cheating on Jebb either.

For supper that night, Pauline had Jebb's favorite foods on the table and had even made her famous Chocolate Chess Pie. When Jebb made a comment about all of the food as he sat at the table, Pauline just said that she thought that Jebb could use a decent meal.

"You look like you've lost some weight, Jebb. I guess havin' to chase after them boys all by yourself all the time can really take it off of ya," Pauline said as she eyed Kira. "Though I guess you're the only that's losing weight. Here, have some more greens," Pauline said as she put an extra spoonful of the mixed greens.

"Mom, I ain't lost no weight and you know it," Jebb said as he dug into his plate.

Meanwhile, Kira picked at her own supper. She couldn't explain it but she just wasn't all that hungry and the smell of the greens seemed to hit her the wrong way tonight. As the rest of the family devoured their food, Kira mainly just pushed hers around on her plate. When the dessert was served, she still hadn't eaten more than a few mouthfuls.

As Pauline started to serve the pie, Kira grabbed Jay's plate from his dinner to make room for the pie plate and put it on top of hers to hide the fact she'd not really eaten. She then grabbed Mikey's and carried them to the kitchen as Emma and Emily helped to clear the table as well.

Kira wasn't really sure if she wanted to head back to the family dining room so she stayed behind when the girls went back for their own dessert. Kira put a pot of water on the stove and waited for it to boil. When the water was ready, Kira fixed her tea and reluctantly returned to the table with it.

By that time, the dinner conversation had turned to Daisy and her pending marriage. Pauline had the satisfaction of believing that she'd been right all of these years about Daisy and the fellas; that Daisy hadn't gotten married before now simply out of duty to her cousins. She had felt that she couldn't get married and leave them without a woman to take care of them. And while she didn't like the fact that there wouldn't be a large wedding for the whole family to attend, Pauline did find the notion of getting married at the stroke of midnight as the New Year began to be a romantic idea.

Jebb rolled his eyes but let his mother go on without interrupting her. It wouldn't hurt anything by letting her believe what she was saying anyway. As he was finishing his dessert, he noticed that Kira was only sitting at the table with the family with a cup of tea instead of a plate for herself.

"Aren't ya havin' any dessert? I know that you love mom's pie," Jebb said.

Shaking her head, Kira replied softly hoping that no one else would hear her, "I'd better not. My jeans are a little tight."

"You know, I noticed that myself," Pauline said from her end of the table. "Maybe you should try this new diet that Grace has been on. She lost ten pounds in a week. I can get you the information on it before you leave."

Kira shot daggers at her mother-in-law. "I haven't gained more than a couple of pounds, Pauline. I think I'll forgo the miracle diet of yours," Kira said as she sipped her tea. It was true; her pants were tighter than they should have been after such a slight weight gain. But then again, with her heart and kidney issues, water weight has always been the bigger issue. Right now, she was more bloated than anything else.

"Well, if you change your mind. You know, you really should watch your weight a bit closer. Once a woman hits thirty, the weight is a lot easier to put on than take off," Pauline said as she stood to start clearing the dessert dishes. She wasn't sure if it was wrong of her to have enjoyed the fact that Kira started to work her jaw in an effort to not reply but enjoy it she did. She still wasn't convinced that the man that she'd seen stepping out with Kira was strictly a friend. It looked like she'll be making a few more trips to Atlanta in the next month than she usually did.

Pauline started to do the dishes as the rest of the family headed into the living room. When Kira brought the last of the dirty dishes to her in the kitchen, she couldn't hold her tongue anymore.

"What the hell was all that in there?" Kira said as she pounded her, now empty, tea cup down next to Pauline on the counter.

"I don't know what you're talkin' about," Pauline said innocently.

"Like hell! Knock it off. It's not enough that you had to try to scare the shit out Jebb this week. Making him think that I was cheatin' on him-"

"I saw you goin' out with a man on a night that your husband thought that you were sick."

"I was going out with a friend that Jebb knows well. He doesn't have a problem with Brent and since you mentioned it, yes, Jebb is my husband; which means that the two of us make decisions regarding our family. I don't need you constantly going behind my back and undermining me on every decision I make."

"As Jebb's mother, it's my job to watch after him to make sure that he doesn't get hurt by anyone," Pauline said as she bore a hole in her son's wife. That look was returned ten-fold by Kira.

"And just who do you think will hurt him? Me? You have a lot of nerve, Pauline, if you think that I'd just sit back and let you try to turn my family against me," Kira said in a deathly quiet voice.

"He was mine first. When all is said and done, a man can have as many wives as he wants, but he can only have one mother," Pauline said standing her ground.

It was then that John came to check on the women, it having been a while since they'd both gone into the kitchen together. After three years, his wife and niece didn't get along any better than when they'd first met. In fact, they never seemed to find a way past the wall of distrust of one another that had been built up the moment that Kira and Jebb's relationship first came out. Here he'd hoped that when they'd both called a truce at Luke's wedding just under a year ago that it would be the end of this slight war between them. Unfortunately, it hadn't taken long for his wife to re-engage their niece/daughter-in-law in battle.

"Are you two done with the dishes? The boys are ready to-" John looked between the two women and saw that they looked just a mere second away from coming to blows. "Am I interrupting anything?" John asked as he intently stared at his wife since he knew that whatever had happened, Pauline was bound to have instigated it.

"I'll head on into the living room," Kira said without looking away from her mother-in-law. "I think Pauline's got everything under control just the way she likes it."

Kira then poured herself another cup of tea before heading into the other room as John turned to his wife.

"Pauline, I thought we talked about this."

"John, I know that-" Pauline was interrupted by the sound of a dish shattering followed by her son's voice.

"Kira!"

John and Pauline left the kitchen and found Kira collapsed on the floor with her teacup shattered beside her. Next to her was Jebb trying to bring his wife around while both of his sisters as well as his boys were looking on from where they'd planned to watch a Christmas movie.

"Emma, you and Emily take the boys upstairs," John motioned to his girls as he knelt beside his son and daughter-in-law. He then took Kira's clammy hand in his own and felt for her pulse. It seemed faster than it should be. "Pauline, call Doc Greenwood."

~01~

Kira waited impatiently as the town doctor checked her blood pressure as three watchful pairs of eyes looked on. One standing right beside her and the other two from the other side of the room. When the older man removed the ear buds to the stethoscope out of his ears and wrapped the medical device around his neck he told her that her pressure was up.

"I could have told you that without a medical degree," Kira rolled her eyes as she rolled her sleeve back down.

"I'll assume that you're on medication and you've been taking it," Doc Greenwood said ignoring the comment from his patient. Over the last two years he'd seen her off and on when she visited the Dukes with Jebb; he was well used to her snippy comments when she wasn't feeling well.

"Of course I've been takin' it. Every morning with breakfast. Today being no different."

The doctor raised a brow at the statement since he doubted that the woman sitting in front of him was as religious as she claimed with regards to her medication since if she had he didn't think that her pressure would be as high as it was nearly a half hour after she passed out.

"With that being the case, I suggest that you take another in the evenings and check back with the doctor in Hazzard when you get home. In the meantime, try to relax. Avoid salt, alcohol and any stressful situations."

Kira knew that all but the last suggestion would be child's play. Avoiding stress while in the same house as her mother-in-law for the next week, however, would be damned near impossible. Especially while Pauline had the ridiculous notion in her head that she was cheating on Jebb.

"Thanks, Doc," Jebb as the man headed toward the door. The older Dukes walked the man out which left him alone with his wife for a moment so he asked, "You sure you feel alright now?"

"Peachy," she said while breathing out hard. She still felt a little weak but she wasn't in the habit of admitting stuff like that. Carefully, she stood up so that the room wouldn't start spinning. Kira eyed Pauline before turning back to her husband. "I think I'd better just head upstairs and go on to bed."

Jebb nodded since he figured that would be best as well as he thought back to his musings from earlier. Kira's collapsing was just one more symptom to put on the list that already had him on edge. He wasn't sure exactly what the cause of his wife's spike in blood pressure was but one thing was certain, he'll be watching her very closely over the next week while she was around for Christmas. Which will make for a very tense holiday for sure.

~01~

Christmas approached the Dukes, both in Placid and in Hazzard and while Jebb continued to keep watch and noticed other instances where he felt that Kira wasn't sharing when she felt more than just a little off (particularly in the mornings) his cousins who were sitting in jail continued to mark off the days until they were free once more.

Lulu had arranged for them to have a small party on Christmas night where they had had the typical holiday feast with their family. They each exchanged gifts and if one hadn't looked toward the bars on the cells behind them all or on the windows, it would be very difficult to imagine that it was all taking place inside of a jail.

Thomas had been surprised by the party since he was certain that this kind of fare was not the usual at other jails, regardless of just how much everyone in a town knew one another. Needless to say, Christmas hadn't gone as he'd expected. In any case, it was good to see that his daughter now had a strong connection to a very close family who wouldn't allow even the most unusual of circumstances to put a damper on their holiday.

Along with the rest of the family, Darcy and Daisy spent the evening celebrating their last Christmas as an unmarried couple. They were very excited that in just one week they would be married. Once married, they will be able to plan for their baby.

Daisy was already making plans for the nursery, not so secretly hoping for a baby girl of her own. She had found material that she was just dying to buy for a baby quilt and curtains but didn't dare for two very big reasons. One, if she bought material for a baby quilt before she was married, news of her pregnancy would be all over town before breakfast the next morning. Two, it was just too early to find out for sure if she was having a girl or a boy.

In just a couple of weeks she'll be able to come out about her pregnancy without shame since she'd be a married woman planning a family with her husband. However the wait to learn the gender of her baby would be a bit longer. A wait that seemed to be eternal to Daisy as she envisioned her baby that she'd have in her arms the next time she celebrated one of the holiest holidays of the year.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve:**

Daisy held up her newly finished dress and smiled brightly to herself. She'd finished it with two days left before the wedding. Now all she had to do was double check at the bakery to ensure that the cake would be ready to be picked up on New Year's Eve.

Lulu had already gotten the Christmas decorations out of Boss's office and had asked her what kind she'd like to replace them to make her small wedding as memorable as possible. Daisy asked for some pink roses and couldn't help but grinning at the idea of Boss having to work in an office covered in them on the day of the wedding once they were delivered. Lulu assured her that they'll all be up by the night of the wedding.

Taking the dress with her, Daisy figured that she'd stow it at Luke's on her way to meet with Jo, Kira and Kim at the seamstress's shop in town. The dresses should be finished by today and each of the other women would try them on to check for any tweaking that needed to be done to them.

The only dress that should need any, though, would possibly be Kira's. Since she'd been in Atlanta and Tranquil, the seamstress had been forced to use the measurements that she'd had on file from Bo and Kim's wedding. At least the woman had said that she would leave some wiggle room in the seams to account for the usual holiday bloat from overeating.

Kira and Jebb had returned from Placid earlier in the morning but she wouldn't be meeting Daisy or the others until after she was finished over at the clinic seeing Doctor Appleby. The family had been told about the problem with Kira's blood pressure while the small family was visiting Jebb's folks. The fact that it had been up while they were there really didn't surprise Daisy. Nor was the fact that Jebb had insisted that Kira get checked out by the town's older doctor a shock. Jebb may act tough in front of their cousins but when Kira's health was involved, he could act like a fretful old woman.

Daisy called over to the farm to remind Kira of the fitting after her appointment since she didn't want Kira to conveniently forget to pick up her dress so that she wouldn't have to wear it. She still couldn't figure out how her cousin could have such an aversion to a beautiful color like pink. Especially since she never minded wearing some of the dull colors that she'd wear instead. Since her cousin never would really explain it outside of the lame excuse of the fact that she has red hair which clashed with it, Daisy supposed that she'd never really know just why her cousin hated the color so badly.

~01~

Kira rolled her eyes as she listened to Jebb rote off a list of her symptoms that he'd noticed in the recent weeks. Obviously, she hadn't been able to hide as much from her husband as she'd thought she had. And he was ratting her out like they were both kids and they'd just gotten caught doing something that could get them sent to the woodshed.

Doctor Appleby lowered his brows in concern as he examined the woman on the table. He didn't like the sound of some of what Jebb was telling him of his observations. He took Kira's pressure and noted that it was higher than it should have been since he had her on a fairly high dose of medication. Medication that he knew his patient was taking since he'd checked the pharmacy's records and saw that she hadn't been late in filling her prescriptions since she'd given birth.

After recording Kira's pressure, he had her lean back so he could check for any possible swelling of her liver, spleen or kidneys. When he found swelling in her lower abdominal area he did his best to hide his concern.

After finishing the examination, Irving made some notes in Kira's file and then drew some blood to run some tests then grabbed another file from the counter in the room as Kira rolled her sleeve back down to hide the bruise that surfaced from the needle. When he did so, he turned toward Jebb.

"Jebb, when I was pulling Kira's file after you called from Tranquil, I also ended up pulling yours and I saw that when you got hurt this past summer you never ended up coming in to get seen when you got back to town."

"Yeh, so?"

Kira snickered since she knew that her husband, while he made her see the doctor for every single cough and sneeze, liked going to the doctor just as much as she did. Meaning not at all. Now he was being called out for neglecting himself and she figured that she might as well as enjoy watching him being the patient for a while.

"Well, considering the area that the injury took place, I really would have liked to have had you checked out right after it took place." Irving saw the younger man squirm slightly in his chair across the room and figured he'd alleviate at least some of the awkwardness. "Now obviously you've healed up since August so we can forgo a full exam. Instead, I'll just need you to bring a sample in like you did two years ago," Irving made eye contact with Jebb to make sure that he understood what kind of sample he was referring to before continuing, "If you bring it in the morning, I can have the results back for both yours and Kira's tests before its time for her to return to court next week."

Jebb suppressed a groan as he heard his wife's reaction to his own pending tests. He didn't bother turning to look at her. He already knew that she was smirking at him with a wicked look in her eyes. "Do you really think that's necessary?"

"It's just a reasonable precaution to take after the accident that you had. One that should have been taken four months ago. Now, I believe that does it for now. You make sure you swing by in the morning with the sample and then the two of you will be free to enjoy the New Year and all of the celebrations that come with it. Minus the alcohol, for Kira of course, until we're sure that we have her pressure under control."

Jebb exchanged a look with his wife before reluctantly nodding his head. He could tell by the look on her face that Kira planned to torment him later on when it came to complying with the doctor's orders. The two then got up and headed out of the clinic and went their separate ways while in town. Kira would head over to meet the other women at the seamstress's shop and Jebb would do some shopping for the twins' birthday.

He and Kira had planned a party for the boys with their playgroup before they'd known that Daisy would be having her wedding that same night. Had they known ahead of time, there would have been no way that they'd plan the party for New Year's Eve. As it was, they hadn't felt that it was right to cancel at the last minute but they did decide to shorten it just a bit. Not that the boys would really know the difference.

Now Jebb just had to get the last of the supplies for the party so that they wouldn't have to come to town again before Daisy's wedding. With the exception, now, of bringing back the sample that the doctor was demanding of him that is.

~01~

Kira joined the other Duke Women over at the seamstress's shop after her appointment at the clinic as Jo was just finishing up with her own dress. In the month and a half since she'd given birth to Faith, the blonde had worked hard to get back to her pre-pregnancy weight and she was making incredible progress. A feat that the gown showed off perfectly.

Kira eyed the dress that was hanging on the wall that she was expected to try on and wear for the wedding and did her best to ignore the horrid color of the satiny material. She knew that the rest of the family didn't understand her aversion to the color pink and she really didn't expect them to. She'd never explained to them that the color was linked to a very bad part of her life that she'd done her best to forget. Though as best as she tried, the darker parts of her childhood still had a tendency to rear their ugly heads at the most inconvenient times.

Once the seamstress was finished with Jo, Mrs. Gracin motioned for Kira to indicate that she was next. Grabbing up the dress, Kira felt a bit self-conscious changing in front of everyone else seeing as how she knew that she'd gained about ten pounds since Thanksgiving and none of her clothes that she'd worn even a month ago fit any more.

When she reached around to zip the back of the dress, Kira had to practically hold her breath as she did so. Looking down, it looked to her that instead of flowing around her like the dress should have, it seemed to be sitting on her stomach. A testament of the weight that she'd gained over the holidays. Kira went to the mirror on the wall and found that to her the dress looked much worse than she had thought it would.

Before Kira could say anything Mrs. Gracin said, "Let me look at this a second."

She hoped she had not switched one girl's measurements for another's. She pulled the dress. Tugged and fluffed. The fact remained it just didn't lay right. Mrs. Gracin looked in her bag for her note pad and tape measure before measuring Kira to compare the measurements. When the woman checked her notes from the previous wedding she made a disapproving sound as she moved the tape down to Kira's hips.

"It looks like someone enjoyed themselves just a bit too much over the holidays."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kira said as scrunched her brows at the older woman. She already knew that she'd been gaining a little bit of weight; she didn't need the seamstress making rye comments about it.

"Well, it seems that you've gained over an inch in both the waist and hips. You know, that's not a very healthy gain in such a short amount of time," the seamstress said as she crossed out Kira's measurements that were from the previous wedding. "Though at least you've spread out evenly," Ms. Gracin said as she noted that Kira's bust measurement had increased as well.

Kira fought back a huff as she asked, "You wouldn't have happened to have left some extra material in the seams, did ya?"

If it wasn't for the fact that she didn't want to ruin Daisy's wedding, Kira would certainly be hoping that there was no way to fix the dress in time for the wedding. As it was, she knew how much having everyone a part of her wedding meant to her. She had already had to make compromises about the kind of wedding she could have once she found out that she was pregnant, Kira didn't really want to be a source of another compromise.

"A little. Though I'm not sure it will be enough. Take the dress off and I'll see if I can come up with something overnight. Come back in the morning and I'll try to have it ready by then."

Kira glanced over at her cousin before nodding her head. At least the other women's dresses were finished and ready for the wedding. A wedding that was fast approaching.

~01~

That night over at the jail, Bo was staring up at the ceiling in boredom. It was too early to try to sleep but there didn't seem to be anything else to do. He'd read through all of the magazines that he had, he and Luke had talked about nearly everything under the sun (including his cousin's release the next day and Daisy's wedding), and he'd even counted the cracks in the mortar in the walls. Now he was left to just zone out and not do much of anything.

Across the room, Enos was being relieved of duty as Cletus settled in for the night with various comics and magazines to keep him occupied overnight. As Bo watched Enos head up the stairs, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd see the man at all the next day. Surely Rosco wouldn't have him working the night shift the next night. Having him there to watch Daisy get married to Darcy just seemed a bit cruel. Maybe he'll be sent out to one of the speed traps instead. He knew that the man was taking Daisy's engagement pretty hard. Here Enos had been pining away for Daisy since they were nine years old and now she was about to marry another man.

Bo knew that Darcy would treat his cousin well and that Daisy would be happy but he wasn't sure if Enos was equally certain about his rival. To him, it just seemed now that Daisy was about to be married, Enos dislike of the man had grown to general distrust. Despite having never seemed to be the jealous type in the past when Daisy dated various men over the years, now that Darcy was about to be given the title of Daisy's husband, it seemed that even Enos had an inner green-eyed monster that was beginning to rise to the surface.

~01~

Daisy sat down next to her cousins' wives on the couch over at Jo's house with a big bowl of popcorn and grinned as she pushed play on the VCR. She'd gotten a couple of her favorite romantic movies and she'd planned an entire evening of watching them and chatting with the other women on her last night as a single woman. Being pregnant, she thought that having a big and rowdy bachelorette party was really out of the question. Instead, the evening with the other Duke Women was just the ticket to get her ready for her wedding the next night.

Jebb had the boys over at his house along with both Jesse and the general (who had agreed to watch Faith for the night) which left Luke and Jo's house free for the night of chick-flicks. With the children all being watched by the men, Kira and Jo were given a night of not having to be mothers and just enjoy themselves.

Jo poured herself a small glass of moonshine but knew that she'd be the only one drinking an alcoholic drink. Daisy was pregnant, Kira had been put on restriction thanks to her blood pressure being so high, and Kim only drank on very rare occasions and Jo knew that when she did drink, the other women in the room wouldn't be the kind of company that she'd want for the night. Still, that didn't mean that she couldn't enjoy her first night of not having to be either a wife or mother for just a few hours.

The four women enjoyed their movies, chatted and even let a few tears go as the touching scenes showed on the screen. Not only did the women talk about the upcoming wedding but Daisy's pregnancy as well. She was barely six weeks pregnant but she was already making her plans of how she wanted to set up her nursery and she was fully enjoying her time of being pregnant. Even now that she was experiencing some light morning sickness.

Kira couldn't understand how her cousin could enjoy getting sick. But then again, that may be because she'd been so sick lately as well. Of course her own time of being pregnant had been a bit different than Daisy's. Fun wouldn't be how she would describe being with child. In fact, she was glad that she'd never have to experience pregnancy again. She was perfectly happy with her twins and they kept her more than busy. Between them, Jebb, and her law practice, she didn't really have time for another baby even if she wanted one. Not that she did.

Daisy, however, was bubbling over with excitement that she was expecting her first of (as she put it) at least four babies since she wanted an entire house full. She had already started thinking of names that she liked for both boys and girls and she began to rattle off possible nursery settings for either gender. By the time she'd described her fourth idea for the baby's room, all of the other women had to do their best not to groan or snicker as she geared up for number five.

"Daisy, don't you think you're over-thinking it all for right now?" Kim asked as politely as she could.

"Yeh, Days. You have nine months to worry about all of that," Jo agreed while giggling. "I don't think you have to have everything already written in stone before you even start showing."

"Maybe, I just don't want to still be picking out a name for my baby after she's already born," Daisy teased back.

"Alright, so maybe Lukas and I could have figured out a name for Faith a little sooner than we did but I know from experience that even if you think you have a name picked out already you'll change it a dozen times before you go into labor."

"Maybe even a couple of times while you are in labor," Kira added with a smirk.

"You two are terrible." Daisy tossed a pillow off of the couch in the others' general direction only to have it hurled back at her by Kira. "Hey!"

Exchanging a glance with Kim, Daisy got a gleam to her eye just before the two of them teamed up and threw pillows at the other two women which started an all-out pillow fight. A fight that ended with the four women exhausted but laughing like a bunch of kids. Kids whom in less than twenty-four hours the last of them would be married to the town's pilot.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Chapter 13**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen:<strong>

Luke watched the clock with anticipation feeling just a little bit guilty. At noon he would be walking up the metal staircase to head home but would be leaving his cousin behind for another ten days. Even if Bo had done it to himself by opening his big mouth in court, it didn't make Luke feel any better about going home without him. Still, guilt or no guilt, Luke planned to enjoy his homecoming. Even if there wasn't going to be time for a proper one before the events of the day demanded his attention.

As soon as he was picked up by Jo at noon, he needed to run over to the bridal shop to pick up his and Bo's suits before rushing over to Jebb and Kira's for the boys' birthday party. Afterwards, Luke would spend a couple of hours with his daughter after his unplanned stay in the local jail. He also had some fences to mend with his father-in-law to assure him that he had no intention of making a repeat visit anytime soon. Then in the evening, the whole family would be busy getting ready for Daisy's wedding as they welcomed in the New Year. As it was, Luke doubted that he'd be able to truly enjoy being home until after all of the festivities were over with.

Seeing that he only had five minutes before Cletus would come downstairs to set the eldest of the Duke Cousins free, Luke leaned against the bars separating his cell and Bo's and poked the blond to get his attention.

"Cuz, look on the bright side, you're halfway home already."

"Yeh, but for the next ten days I'll be down here all by myself." Bo sulked a bit since he was so tired of staring at the same four walls for so many days in a row. Now that he wouldn't even have Luke to pass the hours away with, it was bound to only be more boring.

"It could be worse. You could be over in Little's jail instead of Rosco's." Luke snickered as the look of horror briefly crossed his cousin's face. "I'm pretty sure boredom would be the least of your worries over there."

"Let's not even think about that." Hearing footsteps coming down the stairs, Bo looked up to see Cletus and knew that his time with his cousin was almost up. "Anyway, at least I know you'll be back tonight with the rest of the family."

"A Duke wedding right here in the courthouse. Who would have thought it?" Luke chuckled at the thought. Of all of the places that Daisy could have chosen to have her wedding, the town courthouse and jail had never been the top of his list where he'd thought his cousin would get married.

"Not me. At least not with one of us not being the groom and a shotgun involved. Though with all things considered…" Bo eyed the deputy and decided not to finish his train of thought. He was certain if the man heard that Daisy was pregnant he wouldn't be able to keep the secret. "Anyway, make sure you tell the boys that their Uncle Bo misses them and wish them a happy birthday."

"Will do." Luke stood as Cletus walked over to unlock his cell and prepared himself for a busy day that freedom brought with it.

~01~

Kira was beginning to wonder if she and Jebb needed to have their heads examined. They had invited Jay and Mikey's playgroup over. That meant that they had not just their own two year olds, but an additional six more, over at the house. She shook her head, what was she thinking? Luckily, Kim, Daisy and Jesse had offered to help with the party. Still, with eight toddlers, there was never a dull moment all afternoon.

As Kira took out the birthday cake, all eight toddlers began to bounce in their seats in the dining room. The cake was a checkered cake. Two flavors for two little boys who were born two minutes apart on two different days in two different years. Along with the cake, both vanilla and chocolate ice cream were served.

Jebb was certain that once all of the other toddlers were sent home, it will take all afternoon to clean up the dining room. Cake crumbs and ice cream drippings were all over the table and floor. The other parents had it easy; the other kids were born in warmer weather so an outdoor party was an option for them. Jay and Mikey had been born during a rare snowstorm. While there was no snow on the ground this year, it was still too cold for the kids to stay outside long. Still, they had enjoyed the short amount of time that they'd been taken out to play.

"Remind me again why we decided to let more than a half a dozen two year olds run rampant in our house?" Kira asked as she headed toward the kitchen with a soaking dish rag that she'd used to mop up some spilled juice.

"Oh, come on," Jebb laughed. "It's not so bad. Besides, it's their first party."

"It's probably a good thing that the rest of the playgroup couldn't make it. A few more two year olds and I ain't sure I could keep my sanity," Kira said as she left the room.

Once the cake and ice cream were finished, it was time for presents. Jo and Luke had shown up in time to be there after they'd gotten back from the jail. They waited for the other presents to be given to the twins before they took the twins outside to show them the presents that both Luke and Bo had bought for the boys. Each twin now had their own pedal car to race one another with in true Duke fashion.

Laughing as the boys figured out how to work the pedals, Jesse couldn't help himself. "You two had best be careful. If Rosco hears that you're already drivin', he'll race over here to give ya your first tickets."

"I think he may want to consider retirin' before these two get old enough to send him chasin' all over the county," Luke said as he watched the twins move their cars around in the yard while making motor sounds with their mouths.

"If he has half a brain left rollin' around in his head he will," Jesse said smiling.

Once the gifts were all opened, the other kids were picked up then Jebb and Kira took the boys upstairs for their late nap and to show them their last presents. Inside their room, the crib had been removed and replaced with matching toddler beds that were in the shape of racecars; one blue and one orange.

"Where crib?" Mikey looked up has his dad and asked.

"Gone. You and Jay get to sleep in big boy beds now," Jebb said as he sat Mikey on the closest bed while Kira put Jay on the other one.

"Big beds!" Jay said as he stood up on his bed and started to jump on it.

Kira tried not to laugh as she took a hold on her youngest. "No jumping. It's nap time."

"No nap," both boys shouted out.

"Yes, nap," Jebb said as he tilted Mikey back against his pillow. "Both of you lie on down. We'll be back up in a while."

"Kay," the boys replied as their parents got up to leave the room. The moment the door was closed, though, they both stood up on their beds and started to jump up and down. After a couple of seconds, Jebb shoved the door back open, causing both boys to drop to their beds and grin up at their father.

"You two wouldn't be jumping on them beds, now would you?" Jebb asked in the sternest voice he could muster without laughing. Instead of answering, both boys just giggled. "Uh-huh. I think I'll just leave this door open for now."

Jebb then turned away and headed down the stairs. Knowing fully that the twins weren't likely to get any sleep today during their nap.

~01~

Darcy pulled his suit out of his closet and hung it on the door of his bedroom and stared at it in wonder. He still had a hard time believing that he was about to marry Daisy and that she was going to have his baby. Daisy, the homecoming queen and nearly every male in Hazzard's dream girl. A woman who let her heart lead her and looked for the best in everyone that she met.

Over the years Darcy had come close to losing the only woman that he'd ever loved to various men who had capitalized on Daisy's generosity of heart but now here he was getting ready to get dressed and head to the courthouse for their wedding. If he was indeed dreaming, he hoped that no one pinched him. Tonight, knowing that when he returned to his house on the outskirts of town he would be bring his bride home with him, life was good.

Hearing a knock on the door, Darcy figured that his best friend and best man for the evening had finally sobered up enough from when they'd gone out last night to come over. It was funny, if anyone had watched them last night, one might have thought that Chris was the one getting married and Darcy was the best man. Darcy had the bartender cut the other man off, he'd then practically carried him off to his car and hauled him inside his house over in Capital City. Then today he'd had to call and make sure that he wasn't still passed out on the couch where he'd left him once lunchtime came around and remind him to be on time for the ceremony.

Heading into the living room to open the door, Darcy chuckled as he shouted out, "It's about time, Chris. It's already sunset. What's the matter? You didn't want to come out in the dayli-"

Darcy stopped in mid-sentence when he realized just who was actually at the door. The one man who had remained a constant throughout the years as his main rival for Daisy's affection. A man Daisy likely would have married years ago if he'd ever had the gumption to ask and nearly had when he was facing time behind bars with only her as a witness to what had appeared to be a crime. The man that he knew she would do nearly anything for.

"Enos."

"Darcy." The deputy stood on the porch with his hat still on his head and stood looking more confident than the pilot had ever seen him. Darcy looked back into the room briefly before asking if Enos wanted to come inside while feeling more than a bit awkward standing in the doorway before the other man. "I don't think so. What I came to do won't take long."

At the statement Darcy raised a brow. "And just what did you come here to do?"

"I came to tell you that you'd best take care of Daisy. She's finally made her choice and I can't change her mind but I can make sure of one thing," Enos looked directly at Darcy with a hard look to his eyes as he spoke. "I want you to know that if you ever hurt her, I'll hurt you."

Darcy blinked at the bold statement from the shy deputy. He'd never known the other man to be so direct before. "I have no intention of ever hurting Daisy, Enos."

"You'd better not. She deserves to be happy."

"She will be. I'll make sure of it."

"That makes two of us." Enos gave Darcy a pointed look while trying so hard to not grind his teeth. He still didn't understand what had caused Daisy to finally choose him over himself after so long but she had. He may try to respect her choice but he certainly didn't have to like it.

It felt like an eternity as the two men stood facing one another off at the door. Darcy couldn't begrudge the other man's feelings about his and Daisy's wedding and knew that if the tables were turned he likely would have gone to see Enos before the ceremony too. Darcy was still trying to figure out what to say in response to Enos when his friend and fellow pilot, Chris, drove up into the driveway, effectively ending the stand-off between the two men who loved Daisy equally.

Enos glanced between Darcy and his friend before he gave a brisk nod to the man he'd come to speak to before returning to his patrol car. He had volunteered to watch over things at the Boar's Nest during the New Year's Eve celebration at the bar and he knew he needed to get there before Boss had to leave for the courthouse. Enos just didn't want to think about the reason that the pudgy man wouldn't be at the bar himself for the festivities on a night that he felt like doing anything but celebrating.

~01~

Daisy woke up from her nap that Jesse insisted that she'd take so that she'd be well rested for her wedding. She stretched and yawned as she rolled over on her bed that she'd been using while staying over at Luke's since the old homestead was destroyed in a tornado the month prior. When her eyes fell on her wedding dress hanging on the back of her door she grinned and sat up anxious for the ceremony in the evening to begin.

Daisy went ahead and went downstairs for a small snack before she started to get ready for her wedding. Jo helped her with her hair and soon Kim joined them to finish getting ready. Kira was the last to arrive since she'd waited until after the twins were asleep before leaving them with the baby sitter. Thomas had agreed to watch his granddaughter and figured that of the three children in the family he had it the easiest with watching the infant. The men were all downstairs waiting for the Duke Women to finish getting ready before heading to the courthouse.

"Are you ready to leave your single life behind, Daisy?" Kim fluffed Daisy's dress for her after she'd put it on to help it lay right on the bride. "If you're goin' to change your mind, you're runin' out of time."

"I'm not goin' to change my mind," Daisy said with an emphatic smile. "Wild hogs couldn't keep me away from that courthouse tonight."

"Speaking of wild hogs, I wonder just how Lulu was able to convince Boss to perform the ceremony the way you wanted tonight," Kim laughed as she stepped back to take in just how Daisy looked in her wedding dress.

"My guess would be that she bribed him with food."

Kira snickered at Jo's suggestion. "That or threatened him with it instead."

Daisy laughed as she thought about all of the times she'd heard Lulu threaten to take Boss's refrigerator away. "Well whatever she did, I'm just glad that it worked. Now, how do I look?"

"Beautiful, as always, Days," Kira gave her cousin a brief hug as the other two women agreed.

"You can't tell that I'm pregnant, can you?" Daisy's hand found its way to her still-flat stomach nervously as she asked.

"Of course not. Looking at you in that dress like you do tonight, that would be the last thing on anyone's mind," Jo assured the bride as she gently turned her toward the door. "Now let's head on out. You wouldn't want to be late, now would you? Make poor Darcy think that he's been stood up?"

Daisy looked around to make sure that she wasn't forgetting anything before she grinned at the thought of Darcy waiting for her to enter Boss's office. "Heaven forbid. Alright. I'm ready."

The four women went down the stairs to find the men who were to go to the courthouse with them all dressed in suits that had obviously been chosen by Daisy. The suits themselves were a pale blue but were accented with pink vests and ties that matched the dresses of the bridesmaids.

When Jesse saw Daisy in her gown he wiped a tear quickly away before walking toward to embrace her. This wasn't the first time he'd seen her in a wedding gown but something told him that this time would be the last. His baby girl was all grown up and was not only getting married but she was soon to be a mother. All of his children were all grown and moving on with their lives.

Moving back away, he checked his pockets for his handkerchiefs since he knew they'd be sopping wet within the hour. "You look… you look plum beautiful."

"Thanks." Daisy blushed at the compliment and had to blink back a tear since she didn't want to have to go back upstairs to redo her makeup at the last minute. "Are we all ready?"

Luke handed Faith to Thomas and straightened his suit as he walked over to Daisy and took her in his arms just as his uncle had and grinned. "I think the real question is are you ready?"

"More than ready."

"Then your chariot awaits," Luke said with a mock bow toward the door.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen:**

Bo fiddled with his tie and began to wish that there was a mirror down in the jail cell so he could see what he was doing. He didn't want to show up at the wedding a mess with his hair a sticking up in all directions and his tie crooked. He wanted to look his best for Daisy.

Breathing out a hard breath, Bo gave up and sat on his bunk as he continued to wait for Rosco to come down to get him. He then began to think about his cousin and her soon-to-be husband. Honestly, Bo had thought that Daisy would have made her choice between Darcy and Enos long before now. Though perhaps she had enjoyed having both men vie for her attention more than she'd admit. Especially since the two men were very different from one another in a lot of ways.

Hearing the sound of footsteps on the stairs, he looked up and was greeted with the sight of his wife coming down just ahead of the sheriff. She was wearing her lovely pink bridal gown that hugged her small frame in a way that he wished that he could after all of his time behind bars. Standing, he met his wife as she approached the cell doors.

"You look pretty tonight, Kim." Bo waited for Rosco to open the door and walked out as it swung open then stepped out and wrapped his arms around his wife. "Pretty enough to be the bride."

When he went in for a kiss Rosco reached out and grabbed the back of Bo's suit while making a disapproving sound. "Now don't be gettin' no ideas. You're only out of that there cell for a wedding; not so you two can play kissy-face. Now let's go on upstairs and get at it."

Bo gave Rosco a look but figured that he'd best not cause any trouble before the wedding. But just as soon as his cousin was properly wed he'll not be quite so compliant.

Kim gave her husband a knowing smile as she reached up to smooth down a cow-lick that Bo didn't even know he had and straightened his tie before motioning for him head on upstairs with her for the wedding.

~01~

Kira did her best to not tug at her dress and fidget while waiting for the wedding to start. Ms. Gracin had let the dress out as much as she could and while she had been able to put it on a bit easier than she had been able to the day before, it still was far from being comfortable. Feeling more than just a bit self-conscious in the bridal gown, Kira hoped that this would be the last wedding that she'd be expected to participate in; at least for a while. She loved her cousins but she didn't like having to wear the frumpy dresses in the most god-awful color known to man. Kira'd had to force herself to put in on and, even then, she refused to look in the mirror once she had it on. Once this wedding was over, she intended to burn the dress just as she had done to the dress she'd worn to Bo's wedding and it would be the last article of clothing in that color to enter her house ever again if she had anything to say about it. Now she just couldn't wait for the wedding to get over and done with so she could get out of the pink dress.

When she heard the door open to the bathroom, Kira turned to see Daisy come out from doing a last minute check on her make-up. "Looks like we're all here. You ready?"

"More than ready," Daisy gushed as she looked down to smooth her dress down as she spoke. "I can't believe that I'm finally gettin' married."

"Neither can I," Jesse said as he stepped up beside his niece with a tear threatening to fall in his eye. "When I look at you, I still see that sweet six year old little girl that ran into the house crying out for me when you first came to live with me and your Aunt Lavinia."

"Oh, Uncle Jesse." Daisy leaned in to give her uncle a hug and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I haven't been a little girl in some years."

"You're wrong, Daisy. You'll always be my little girl." Jesse returned the kiss on the top of his niece's head and held onto to her as if it would be the last time that he'd ever be able to hold her.

"Jesse," Jo spoke up as she saw Rosco and Kim come up from the jail with Bo in tow looking dapper in his pale suit. "I think we're about ready to start."

The old patriarch of the family breathed in a heavy sigh as he reminded himself that in just about five minutes he'd be giving the bride away and sending her on her way to start her own family that was already well on its way to being made.

"Jesse?"

"Yeh, we're comin'." Jesse pulled back and straightened Daisy's dress out for her. After it was laying wrinkle-free he extended his arm and turned toward the door to J.D.'s office. Ready or not, it was time to give his little girl away.

~01~

Boss watched as Rosco escorted the lone remaining prisoner into his office while trying to muffle his grumbling. If Lulu heard him voicing his opinion on this ridiculous idea for a wedding or how he resented it taking his time at such a late hour she'd see to it that he went on a diet for sure. And she'd even threatened to have his mother-in-law move in with them. Something that he knew he'd never survive if she carried out that threat.

Knowing when he'd been beat, Boss grabbed his book and flipped the pages to find the ones he'd need to perform the wedding ceremony. As he did so, Bo, Luke and Jebb softly played their guitars and mandolin while the women folk in the family slowly filed into his office at the courthouse. Meanwhile, Darcy and his friend Chris were standing beside him while Rosco joined Lulu in one of the chairs that had been set up in the office for the small gathering.

Once the women were in place, Jesse walked Daisy in while wearing his finest suit. He walked arm in arm with Daisy toward where Darcy was waiting in front of Jefferson. Once both the bride and groom were standing before him, the pudgy commissioner cleared his throat and began the ceremony while keeping an eye on the clock so he knew just how much time he had before the stroke of midnight.

"Folks, ya'll are gathered here to be fellow witnesses with me as Daisy Duke and Darcy Kincaid join together in matrimony. May I ask, who gives this little lady away to this man?"

Jesse could feel himself choke up a bit. It sounded so crude to him the way J.D. had phrased the question. Here he was, standing before God saying that he was giving his little girl to Darcy in marriage. "I reckon that'd be me," Jesse said as he blinked back some tears. He turned and lifted Daisy's veil and gave Daisy a kiss on the cheek then exchanged a hug with the woman that he'd raised as his own since she was little.

Boss then continued, going on about the sanctity of marriage and how a good cornerstone was important for a marriage to work. Darcy nearly tuned the man out as he stared at his bride. For the life of him he couldn't figure out how he'd gotten to be so lucky. For him out of all people to marry the gorgeous brunette who he'd been in love with since the first day he'd met her in school. For whatever reason, God had deemed him worthy to be wed to the love of his life. Darcy vowed to God himself that he'd never do anything that would make Daisy regret giving herself to him in marriage. It was only when the commissioner said his name that he looked back at him and started to pay attention to the man again.

"Daisy and Darcy, have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?"

The bride and groom replied, "We have."

"Will you love and honor each other as husband and wife for the rest of your lives?"

"We will," both Darcy and Daisy said together.

Boss then moved on to the vows and had both Daisy and Darcy repeat them. Seeing that time was quickly getting away from them, he then sped up his speaking as he guided the two through the exchange of the wedding rings.

"Daisy and Darcy have brought rings to represent to one another as a symbol of their marriage vows today. Now Darcy and Daisy will exchange them as a symbol of their love."

"Daisy," Darcy began after he took the ring from his best man. "With all that I am and all that I have, I give you this ring as a symbol of my everlasting love." Darcy finished speaking as he placed the ring on its new home on Daisy's finger.

Daisy swallowed hard before she began to place the golden band on Darcy's finger. "Darcy, with all that I am and all that I have, I give you this ring as a symbol of my everlasting lov-"

Boss cut Daisy off just as the second hand passed the eleven on the huge clock that hung on the wall in his office, "By the authority vested in me as a Commissioner in the Great State of Georgia, I now pronounce you to be husband and wife."

Daisy grinned up at Darcy as he leaned in to kiss her as the clock began to chime. He held the New Year's kiss for the full twelve chimes before he finally pulled back and hugged his brand new bride.

Around the room, the other couples quickly stole their own New Year's kisses just before Boss announced to the room, "Now may I introduce for the first time as husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Kincaid."

~01~

The wedding party adjourned out to the main courtroom where Lulu had set up some refreshments for the Duke family and had even set up a record player so the family could do a little dancing to celebrate. In fact, Lulu had even been able to persuade her husband to dance a bit before it was time for the festivities to end.

The family threw rice at Daisy and Darcy as they left the courthouse then began to clean up the courtroom to put things back in order. All too soon, it was time for Bo to be taken back down to his cell.

Lulu insisted on Rosco leaving him unshackled on the way down since she trusted his word that he wouldn't give her brother any trouble. After all, from what she's always seen, the Duke Boys only give as much as they get from her husband and brother. None of them have ever tried anything when they'd been given due process; even if they didn't really deserve whatever sentence they were given.

Lulu finished sweeping up and smiled brightly at the couples as they got ready to leave out. Luke and Jo were the first out the door once the place was cleaned up. She knew that Luke was anxious to get home to his little baby girl since he hadn't likely gotten to spend much time with Faith after his extended stay down in the same cell that his younger cousin was being escorted to.

Kira and Jebb, too, were in a hurry to see to their own children. Though their reason may just be to make sure that the twins didn't wake up and give the babysitter any trouble. The whole county knew just how much of a handful the youngest Duke Boys could be for anyone but their parents and Uncle Jesse. Of course Lulu always found them absolutely adorable and loved hearing each new story involving the boys. At times, it was just like watching Bo and Jebb running around together all over again. And look at how well those two and Luke turned out. In her opinion, Jay and Mikey couldn't have any better role models.

~01~

At the stroke of midnight Enos walked out of the Boar's Nest and headed over to his patrol car, leaving the party goers behind in the loud bar. Enos stared up at the sky and caught sight of a shooting star. He knew that it was too late to wish that Daisy would change her mind. Instead, he closed his eyes to make a different kind of wish.

"Lord, make sure he's good to her. Make sure she's happy."

Enos finished his prayer under the stars before climbing into his car and heading out to ride around to check on the various businesses in town. Taking the long way there since he didn't want to show up too soon and meet the Kincaids on their way home from the courthouse. He didn't want to see the new Mrs. Kincaid before he absolutely had to.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen:**

The next morning, Daisy woke up and stretched as she lay next to her new husband. Today they'd be leaving out for their trip out of town for their honeymoon and she was eager to know just where she and Darcy were going. He'd been insistent that he wanted to surprise her and hadn't breathed a word of their destination to her. Not knowing where they were going, Daisy had found packing for the trip to be more than just a bit difficult.

Taking a glance at Darcy, she saw that he was watching her and looked like he'd been awake for some time already. Moving in closer to snuggle, Daisy greeted her new husband with a kiss.

"Morning."

"Morning. Sleep well?"

Daisy grinned as she answered, "I can't remember the last time I had as good of a night's sleep. So, when are you goin' to tell me where we're goin' for our honeymoon?"

"Well, I wasn't really planning on tellin' ya. I figured we'd just get on the plane and you'd find out when we get there. After all, you agreed to let me surprise you."

Daisy lightly jabbed her husband in the side as she said, "Well now I've changed my mind. I want to know."

Darcy got a mischievous look on his face before he asked, "If I tell ya, what do I get out of it?"

"I'm sure I could figure something out. So?"

She looked in to his eyes so expectantly that he just had to go ahead and tell her. "Well I was thinkin' back to when you went on one of Miss Lulu's trips."

"Yeh?"

"And I remember that there was one place that you seemed to enjoy more than any of the others."

"Would you just go ahead and tell me where we're goin'? The suspense is killing me."

Darcy grinned and seriously began to debate his decision to change his mind and tell Daisy now rather than once they were on the plane.

"Darcy!" Daisy squealed as she nudged his shoulder, causing him to laugh out loud.

"Alright. Alright," Darcy held up his hands as he surrendered and went ahead and told his new bride of his plans. "I thought that you might would like to go back to New Orleans."

"We're goin' to- Oh, Darcy!" Daisy wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and gave him an enthusiastic kiss. She had loved her time in the exciting city and had always hoped to return one day. Now she'd get to go back as a married woman with her new husband.

~01~

On Friday, Kira sat in Irving Appleby's office next to Jebb as they waited for the old doctor to give them the results of her tests that had been ran earlier in the week. She had the sinking feeling that regardless of what the man was about to tell her, she wasn't going to like it. Glancing over at Jebb, she could tell that he was thinking the same thing.

Ever since her episode when she passed out at his parents' house, he'd barely taken his eyes off of her and it was beginning to wear on both of their nerves. She hated to admit that at the moment, she just wanted the appointment to be finished so that she could pack back up to head to Atlanta to bury herself in her case so she wouldn't have to watch her family eye her as if she had fallen ill with some fatal disease. She knew that everyone was fearful for her health and that didn't exactly help ease her own concerns for the reasons behind her recent maladies. In fact, seeing the tension in everyone else's faces caused more to settle in her own muscles in her shoulders and back. At times, it was as if she had to carry each of them and their concerns on her own shoulders.

When the doctor joined them in his office, he set two files down on the desk before taking his seat. Removing his glasses, he rubbed his eyes as he tried to figure out just where to begin. And here he'd thought that he'd already sorted through all of that before he'd joined the couple in the room.

"Well?" Kira raised a brow as she asked. She wanted to go ahead and get on with the appointment and head on home. As personable as the doctor was, he wasn't her favorite person in the world to see. Probably because whenever he came to see her he tended to tell her things that she'd rather not hear.

"Well, I have both of your test results back and we do have a few things to discuss."

Jebb just knew that his worst fears about why Kira had seemed so run down lately were about to be confirmed. The knot in his stomach felt so heavy, he was positive that if he was dropped into the Hazzard Pond, he'd drown for sure. "Like?"

"To start off with, there are your test results, Jebb."

"Mine? What about my results?"

Irving knew that neither of the Dukes in front of him expected him to concentrate on Jebb's results first but with all things considered, he figured that it was best.

"When your sample was processed and the tests were done, my fears that you'd done more damage back in August than you knew were confirmed." The doctor opened the file and handed the other man a paper that had Jebb's test results listed. "With the area that was affected in the motorcycle wreck, the measures that were taken two years ago are no longer effective."

"Meaning…" Jebb glanced over at his wife as he got the sneaky suspicion that he was now responsible for Kira's symptoms lately.

"Meaning that as a result of the accident back in the summer, Kira's now pregnant." Irving watched as both of his patients took in the news. Judging by his face, Jebb was the first to recover.

"Pregnant?"

"Yes, coming up on about nine weeks, I'd say based on the examination and blood work. Now obviously this pregnancy won't be like most other pregnancies. We'll need to go ahead and plan the same tests for the baby as we did for Mikey and Jay as well as others to monitor…"

Kira heard the doctor continue explaining the complications that were already revealing themselves even before she knew that she was pregnant but she quickly tuned him out. All she could concentrate on was the fact that she'd been told just how dangerous it would be for her to get pregnant again after her twins were born. Now she was being told that after being so sure that she wouldn't have to worry about that possibility of months filled with anxiety and uncertainty, that was exactly what was in her future. She vaguely heard her name being spoken but she didn't really pay much attention to it as she could only focus on one thing.

She was pregnant; again.

"Kira?"

"What?"

"About the tests that we need to schedule," Irving began as he remembered all too well how much Kira had disliked the endless testing during her previous pregnancy. Of course her problems had developed after she had already been into her second trimester but this time she was barely nine weeks along and already showing troubling symptoms. "I would really like to get started on some of them as soon as possible."

"I'll be in court for at least another two weeks dealing with the trial-"

"Kira." Jebb couldn't help but be surprised that his wife's first thoughts were of the trial in Atlanta rather than of her own health.

"Jebb, it isn't something up for debate. I can't just quit in the middle of the trial," Kira insisted as she crossed her arms. "A man's life depends on the outcome of that trail and I can't just leave him without a defense."

Irving glanced between the couple and knew that it'd be best to not get in the middle of the argument that he could see brewing between them. Instead, he concentrated on what he could do for his patient's health.

"I could call in the appropriate tests so you could have them ran in Atlanta. That way we can go ahead and get things started. Is there a particular day that would work better for you?"

"Um, well, court tends to run late on most days… Except Fridays, that is."

"Then I'll arrange an appointment for you on Friday. I'll give you the details before you leave this weekend," Irving made a note on Kira's chart as he spoke. "I'll contact Doctor Robins in Atlanta this afternoon to set up the appointment."

"Just make it for the end of the day and I should be able to make it." Kira stood up to leave with an unhappy Jebb behind her.

"I'll keep that in mind. In the meantime, I'm sure you remember what to do and what not to do during pregnancy."

"We both do," Jebb said as he put a hand at the small of Kira's back only to have it shaken off. He supposed that he deserved that since he was well aware of the fact that if he'd gone to the doctor back when he had his accident, Kira wouldn't be pregnant right now. Something that he'll be reminded of constantly for the next eight months.

~01~

Kim waved good-bye to Miss Tisdale as she left the post office. All the while assuring the woman that she'd be sure to pass on to Jesse that she'd said hello. She started thumbing through the envelopes that she'd gotten from the postmistress. She checked to see if there was anything that she needed to tell Bo about when she made it over to the jail. When she came across one for her without a return address on it she became just a bit curious.

Ripping it open, Kim quickly read through the letter only to wish that she hadn't. Tearing the letter into shreds, she searched the street for a trash can. She then waded up the pieces and threw them away before putting as much distance between herself and them as possible.

"I saw that."

Hearing Rosco, Kim spun around. "What?"

"Littering, that's what," Rosco said as he pointed to a couple of pieces of the letter that hadn't made it into the trash can. "I'm afraid I'll have to write you a ticket."

Kim glanced down at paper as if they were vipers. She halfheartedly listened to Rosco's lecture about the evils of littering as she accepted the ticket. She then watched as the sheriff gleefully headed toward his car quite pleased with himself for ticketing a Duke.

Once the man had driven away, Kim walked down the street to where she'd parked the car that she'd left with Cooter and put the rest of the mail inside before heading over to the jail to visit with her husband. The whole time she was glad that she was married for such a wonderful man; especially after being married to the monster that she'd met back medical school. She only wished that Bo didn't have another week to spend behind bars.

~01~

Daisy walked down the street in New Orleans hand in hand with Darcy just basking in the atmosphere of the city. She hated that the two of them only had another few nights before their honeymoon would be over. They would then have to go back to Hazzard. Once back, it would only be a matter of time before she'd have to let the cat out of the bag about her pregnancy. She hoped that she'll be able to hide it for just a few more weeks. After all, just because she'd been honest with her family about being pregnant prior to her wedding day, it didn't meant that she wanted the whole town to know. At least not right away.

Still, Daisy knew that it would still be a couple of weeks before she would begin to show so maybe if she just proved to everyone that she was really enjoying being married, folks wouldn't speculate too much about her once it became obvious that she would be expecting a baby only a few months after her wedding day.

Hearing a band playing in the streets, Daisy pulled her husband behind her as she headed toward the music. She'd worry about the folks back in Hazzard latter. For now, she planned to enjoy her honeymoon.

~01~

Jesse had been cooking supper when Jebb and Kira returned home from seeing Doc Appleby. He sat down at the kitchen table as his niece and nephew both came in and said that they needed to talk to him about something important. Knowing that the whole reason that they'd been there was because of Kira's troublesome symptoms lately, he feared just what they had to tell him that made them both look so serious.

"So what did the doc say?"

Jebb pulled a chair out at the table for Kira only for her to ignore it and pull out a different chair to sit in. Kira's gesture hadn't gone unnoticed by Jesse. He raised a brow in question to Jebb who only lowered his head as he sat in the chair that he'd intended for his wife.

"Well?"

Jebb waited to see if Kira would answer before addressing his uncle's question. "Doc said that… that um… Doc said that we're goin' to have another baby."

"A baby? Well I'll be. That's wonderful news…" Jesse had expected the parents-to-be to be smiling from ear to ear. Instead they looked nearly mournful. "Ain't it? I mean, with the boys gettin' so big and all I figured that the two of you would be thinkin' about havin' another little one to keep em company."

Kira swallowed hard as she saw the excitement that lit Jesse's eyes fad as he realized that it wasn't spreading to her and Jebb.

"Jesse, we hadn't planned on havin' anymore kids. Not after the last time."

"The last time?" Jesse thought back to Kira's prior pregnancy, knowing that it had been a difficult one, before he continued, "Oh, Kira, I know that you had a rough go of it the last time but-"

"That's putting it mildly," Kira muttered.

"Jesse, we were warned that another pregnancy wouldn't be the… safest thing for Kira; or any other baby that might would come along as a result."

"What are you sayin', Jebb?"

"I'm sayin' that we'll have to keep a close eye on Kira's health for the next several months."

Kira rolled her eyes since the last thing she wanted was for anyone to watch her closer than Jebb usually did.

"Well, I supposed that's only right. But that don't mean that we can't be a little excited about another little one bein' on the way." Jesse stood up walked over to put a hand on Kira's shoulder. "You just take it easy and leave the household chores to the rest of us. In the meantime, I best get back to supper. Now I have a reason to try to make it special."

Jebb stood as well before adding almost timidly, "Maybe you should go up and take a nap before supper."

"I'm not tired," Kira said while looking directly at her husband.

"But the last time, Doc had you restin' durin' your pregnancy."

"Not at nine weeks he didn't. Besides, I've got work to do." Kira then went to the one place that she knew the family would always respect her privacy, her office just off of the kitchen.

Once inside, she leaned up against the door and bit back a groan. Here her pregnancy was really just starting and she was already fearing being smothered.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen:**

That night, Jebb poked his head into the nursery before heading toward his and Kira's bedroom and had to smile to himself when he saw that the twins had curled up together in Jay's toddler bed. They weren't used to sleeping apart just yet and more often than not, one or the other would slip off into the other racecar bed once their parents put them down for the night.

Considering that the night promised to be the coldest of the season, Jebb didn't think that it would hurt any to let them snuggle together. He walked in to tuck his boys in and added another blanket on top before heading off to bed himself.

Once in the bedroom, he saw that Kira was already sitting on the bed. Being the first time since coming home that they'd been alone, Jebb tried to decide just how to discuss the one topic that was looming on his mind quite prominently. Kira hadn't been ready to talk about it on the drive home from Doctor Appleby's.

"The boys asleep?" Kira asked as she added another blanket to her and Jebb's bed.

"Yep. Though I think that we could have just gotten them one bed. The second one rarely even gets used."

"They'll get used to sleeping apart eventually." Kira pulled back the blankets and sheet to crawl into bed and busied herself with getting ready to turn in for the night. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Jebb was debating with himself on whether or not he wanted to say something. "What is it, Jebb?"

"I was just wondering, are you okay? You know, with the pregnancy?"

"I'm getting used to the idea," Kira said with a shrug.

"It's just, well, you've already passed out because of it."

"Actually, I passed out because my blood pressure went up while we were visiting your parents. I don't have to be pregnant to have high blood pressure around your mother; especially when she's on this kick about me cheating on you. As long as she stays in Placid and I steer clear of her then everything will be fine."

Jebb didn't know how he was going to be able to keep his mother away for the next eight months, especially once he calls home to tell his parents that he and Kira were expecting another baby in the morning. But he could agree that Kira's pressure has seemed to go up nearly any time she had to be around his mother for very long at a time. The key to keeping her healthy during this pregnancy was to keep the two most important women in his life apart from one another at all costs.

"It's just, I know that you wouldn't have gotten pregnant if I had listened to you about going to get checked after the accident."

"No, I wouldn't but I am now so there's no sense in trying to place blame," Kira turned on her side and moved her pillow closer to her as she tried to find a comfortable spot as she spoke. "Now will you get into bed? Tomorrow's going to be a big day with both Bo getting out of jail and Daisy coming home from her honeymoon."

Jebb sighed as he crawled in behind his wife in bed. Kira turning her back to him was a clear sign that she had said all that she planned to. But she was right, tomorrow promised to be a busy day with not just one but two homecomings. He just hoped that Kira had also been right about the fact that there wasn't anything really wrong with the pregnancy already. It was just after their last pregnancy, not to mention the turmoil around the births of their sons, Jebb knew all too well just what could happen and it scared him to death.

~01~

The next morning, Doc Appleby scanned over the various files of patients who have shown unexplainable symptoms to their own personal maladies which have up until now been controlled by their prescribed medications. He couldn't understand how both his and Kimberly's patients could be declining in their health the way they were. Not all of his patients' illnesses were dangerous of course but there were those who did worry him.

Looking at the file in front of him, he now was worried about Kira and the fact that, according to the blood work that he'd ran, her medication that was keeping both her heart and kidneys running as well as possible, hadn't been in her system for at least six weeks. He'd checked with Russell over at the pharmacy and the records showed that she had been filling her prescriptions on time so he had every reason to believe that she'd been taking them. So he had no idea why the blood tests would show otherwise.

For the life of him, he couldn't see a connection between each of the patients, other than the fact that their medicines just seemed to stop working. Some were to lower blood pressure, others were diuretics, Mrs. Miller's pills to regulate her heartbeat, Mrs. Griffith's medication was to raise her blood pressure, three of his diabetic patients whose sugar levels had been controlled for years have suddenly spiked for no apparent reason, and eight women who had been on birth control for years have shown up pregnant in only a three week time-frame.

He had to be missing something. Both his and Kimberly's patients were counting him to figure out this conundrum. Regardless of how Irving looked at it, the only thing that all of his patients seemed to have in common was the fact that each of them had their prescriptions filled at the same pharmacy. Picking up the phone, Doc Appleby called over to speak with Russell to see if he was free to discuss his concerns about the possibility that the medication in the pharmacy had been contaminated in some way.

"Can you tell me who the suppliers are that you get the medications from? I'd like to contact them as soon as possible to have them do an investigation of the affected drugs on their end while Kimberly and I continue learning what we can here in Hazzard."

_"Actually, Irving, I don't really know who the suppliers are now."_

"What? What do you mean you don't know who your suppliers are?"

_"Back this past fall, Boss decided he wanted to take a more hands on approach in the running of the pharmacy. He's been taking care of making the purchases and having his men unload the trucks each month when they came in." _

Irving rubbed his eyes as he wondered just why Boss would decide after all of these years to take over the running of the pharmacy when he'd always trusted Russell to deal with the medical aspect of it.

"Alright. I guess I'll have to talk to him about it. Thanks, Russell."

~01~

After the two men hung up, Maybelle got straight to work calling Boss Hogg to tell him what she had overheard in regards to the medication at the pharmacy. When Boss heard that the doctors in town were looking into the medications stocked in the local pharmacy, he was concerned for two reasons.

One, if they had been contaminated as it appeared Doc Irving suspected, then he certainly wanted to get them out of his pharmacy as quickly as possible to prevent them from doing any harm to his town. After all, he would never wish any real harm to come to the people of Hazzard.

Two, if there ended up being an investigation into the medication, he didn't want there to be any evidence that he'd chosen to stock them in the pharmacy after being influenced by the potential profit margin that was shown to him by his supplier.

Boss knew that he needed to talk to the man that he'd been doing business with since the fall but there was no way that he'd risk being overheard talking to him about the new concerns for the quality of the medications. He grabbed his hat and headed out to his Cadillac and decided to take a drive out of town. Once he was out of the county, he called the number that he'd been using for the last several months to contact his supplier only to be told that the number had been disconnected.

Hearing that, he knew that he'd been taken; swindled. His supplier knew that something was wrong with the medicines that he'd been sold. Now he had to figure out how to get new medicines to replace the contaminated ones without anyone realizing that he had anything to do with putting inferior medications in the town's only pharmacy. And he had to do it fast.

~01~

Daisy knew that Darcy had been right about the fact that they needed to get their mail and some groceries now that they were back in Hazzard but all she wanted to do was rush out to the farms and see her family after her time away. Wanting to get their errands completed as fast as possible, the two split up. Daisy ran into the market to grab what food she needed out at the house while Darcy took care of the mail and getting gas for their car

Once in the store, Daisy did her best to hurry and in doing so, she ran right into Lulu as she turned a corner. Seeing Lulu's dropped cans of vegetables on the ground, Daisy bent down to pick them up, embarrassed at her carelessness.

"Oh, Lulu, I'm so sorry. I was in such a hurry and wasn't payin' attention to where I was goin'."

"Daisy, you don't have to apologize to me. I'm sure you just want to get back to that new husband of yours. The honeymoon must have been great, by the look on your face."

Daisy couldn't help the grin that spread across her face at Lulu's comment. "Yeh, it was really great. We just got back and I just needed to grab a few things before heading home. Then of course I can't wait to see the rest of the family."

"I can imagine, with so much goin' on right now. Finally, your cousin, Bo, is gettin' out of jail today and then there's the baby. The whole family must be so excited."

"Baby?" Daisy could feel her chest get tight at the mention of her pregnancy. How did she know about the baby? "You know about that already?"

"Honey, it's already all over town. Maybelle told me this morning after she heard Jebb sharin' the good news with his folks in Placid."

"He what?" Jebb told his parents about her pregnancy? Over the phone? In Hazzard?

"Yes, and don't worry; I don't think it will be as rough as the last time. I'm sure that Kira will be just fine."

Kira? Daisy felt like she was trying to get her feet under her after getting off of a roller coaster. Was Lulu talking about her pregnancy or was she talking about her cousin? Why would she think that Kira is pregnant?

"I'm sure that Jesse is looking forward to seein' another youngen around on the farm. Why, Faith is only two months old and the family is already expecting another! And of course, I'm sure that you'll want to set up a nursery of your own before too long."

"I-uh-"

"I can already see you with a little one of your own, too."

Lulu took the cans from Daisy and looked down at her watch before she apologized about having to rush off. She promised that she'd chat with her later and she wanted to hear everything about Daisy's honeymoon when they got together. She then left a very confused brunette behind her in the market.

~01~

Bo stepped out of the jail and hugged his wife for the first time since he was locked up nearly a month ago. After stealing a kiss from her as well, the two went up the stairs and left the courthouse where the General Lee was parked out front and ready for the freed jail bird. He was ready to hop in the car and tear up the back roads but came up short when he saw his newly married female cousin walking out of Rhuebottom's across the way. Exchanging a glance and grin with his wife, the two headed over to greet the woman back to town.

Grabbing Daisy's bag with one arm, Bo wrapped the other around Daisy and gave her a welcoming hug and a chaste kiss on the top of her head. "Welcome back, Days. How'd you like New Orleans?"

"You knew where we were goin'?"

"Yep. Darcy asked which of all of your trips that you've gone on you liked the best. It was between Louisiana or New York. Kira said that he might not want to set you loose on New York again so he chose New Orleans instead."

"Speaking of Kira, I just had the strangest conversation with Lulu," Daisy looked around the street as she spoke to make sure that there wasn't anyone close enough to overhear her. "She said something about a baby."

Kim exchanged a glance with her husband before she spoke up. "She found out that she was pregnant yesterday. It's partially the reason why she had her spell back at Christmas while visiting Jebb's folks."

"Oh," Daisy said just a bit relieved for a moment once she realized that her own pregnancy was a secret to everyone except her immediate family. The relief was short-lived, however, as the fact that Kira and Jebb were once again expecting a baby after having a turmoil-filled pregnancy just over two years ago. "Oh."

Bo steered both of the women away from the store as he spoke, "We'll talk about it once we get on out to the farm. The others have planned for a big dinner tonight. Uncle Jesse is even making his bisque."

"Yum…I can't wait." Daisy caught sight of her new husband finishing up his own errand over at the post office so she quickly add, "I'll see you there. I'd better hurry up and catch up to Darcy."

Bo chuckled as his cousin ran off. He then turned to his wife and grinned as he steered her back toward the car. After all, they were still newlyweds, too, and had a lot of time to make up for from while he was locked up for nearly the entire last month.

~01~

That night over at Luke's, the family was celebrating having the entire family home once more. Jesse went all out with his special dinner and Jo had helped with dessert by making a pie. Having gone most of her life without a large and close family, Jo enjoyed throwing herself into the large gettogethers that the Dukes would throw at every chance that they got.

Jo also loved how the whole family pitched in with not only the household chores but with the children as well. She was sure that if she'd been a part of any other family she would have felt overwhelmed with Faith while Luke was in lock up. Being a new mother of only a month when he went in, and all. But in actuality, she never got the chance to feel out of place since she had all of the help that she could have dream of. She'd even been able to get a couple of paintings started since Faith's birth.

Now that both Daisy and Kira were pregnant, Jo looked forward to being able to return the help that she's been getting. Already she's gone through Faith's clothes that she had miraculously outgrown in such a short amount of time. They'll be getting used again sooner than she could have anticipated.

"I can't wait to start decorating the nursery," Daisy said as she sat next to Darcy in the living room as the family moved in there after dinner. "Of course I'd like to find out if I'm having a boy or girl before I do too much planning."

Kim giggled at her friend's enthusiasm before telling her, "Daisy, you are only eight weeks along. You've got a while before you'll be able to have an ultrasound to find out what the baby is. And they aren't always right."

"I'll say," Kira snickered as she remembered her three ultrasounds and how the fact that she was having twins didn't even show up on the first two. Even with the third one, she and Jebb had no idea if they were having two boys or if they were going to have a little girl to accompany the little boy that they had seen in their previous scans.

"I know, I know. I'm just so excited, is all." Daisy leaned back and watched as Luke held his daughter and began to picture how Darcy would look holding their own little one who was on the way. "What about you and Jebb, Kira. Are you hopin' for a little girl this time?"

"I haven't really stopped to think about it, but Daisy, I'm not sure I'd know what to do with a little girl."

"Kira, you are going to need another female in the house to balance things out a little. You are all alone in a house full of Duke Boys. Trust me on this. You need a little girl this time. Can you imagine having three boys fightin' and rough-housin'?"

"Hey, boys aren't all that bad," Jebb piped in since he was sort of pulling for another son. He liked the idea of having a house full of them. True he was scared to death for Kira now that she was pregnant again but he had to admit that more than just a small part of himself was eager for another son after not believing that he and Kira could have any more children. "And if I remember right, you was as bad as all six of us boys in the house at times when the rest of us came to visit. You were just more sneaky about it, is all."

"Jebb's right," Luke chuckled. "I still remember how you used to bite me anytime Lavinia and Uncle Jesse weren't lookin' whenever you were mad."

"She what?" Jesse's interest was piqued now since he thought he knew everything that his kids ever did when they were growing up. Granted, he'd concentrated more on the boys with his attention. Karen was almost never in trouble when she came out to visit and he had thought that Daisy took after her older female cousin.

"Yep, and she was a patient little cuss, too, when it came to getting even." Luke grinned as he watched his cousin blush in embarrassment now that some of her misdeeds were being known. "One time she waited three whole hours to get me back. Let's see, the first time I remember was before she even moved in. She was probably about three and she was mad that I told on her for drawing on the wall in the hall. She waited until I was playing on on my hands and knees on the floor with my cars and she came right up behind me and bit me on the ass."

"She didn't?" Bo busted out laughing as he thought about his two cousins when they were younger before he was born both doing their best to get one over on the other. Though being the youngest of the household, he saw his own share of how devious Daisy could be.

"She was too young to wield a cast iron fryin' pan at the time so she did with what she had," Luke said as he started to think on some of the other times that he and Daisy had gotten into it over one reason or another. He knew all too well that little girls weren't always sugar and spice. Or maybe they were; that spice just happened to be cayenne pepper!

"Well, I'm not too young now, Luke Duke! Besides, you weren't exactly all that innocent as a child. You had more than a bit of a temper on yourself, too. At least I never put anyone's head through the wall." Daisy crossed her arms as she glared at Luke only to ruin the effect by smiling.

"Let's face it," Darcy did his best not to laugh at the two cousins as he spoke. "Any kid in this family will be a Duke, which means they'll be a handful."

"I bet you wish you thought about that before now," Kim teased the parents-to-be.

"Too late," Bo finished for his wife. Thinking about all of the things that he and his cousins did to one another when they were kids, he was almost glad that he wouldn't have to wrangle any youngens of his own. Instead, he'll get to be the fun uncle who the family children will learn how to push their parents' buttons from. "Do you regret it?"

"Nope. I'll just make sure I'm ready for the handfuls when they come. And maybe let their mother deal with them," Darcy winked as he said the last part.

"Oh, I think you might want to rethink that." Daisy grinned. "Imagine all the things I could teach our kids to do to annoy their father."

"I think I'm in trouble."

"Son, if you only knew." Jesse shook his head in mock despair. He then looked back over at his oldest before asking, "So tell me some more of what Lavinia and I missed when you kids were younger."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen:**

Daisy walked out of the clinic arm in arm with her cousin's wife as the two prepared to meet with Jo and Faith for lunch. She stopped by the clinic to have some blood drawn for some routine tests. So far, she felt confident that she'd been able to avoid suspicion around town by going to the clinic on a daily basis to visit Kim. She knew that she'd have to come out about her pregnancy soon since under her layers of clothing that she'd been wearing to fight off the winters cold she was developing quite a baby bump. Daisy had just wanted to make sure that she'd been a respectfully married woman for at least a few weeks before she let word get out; that way people would just assume that she'd gotten pregnant while on her honeymoon just like Jo had.

Over at the Dixie Café, Jo had Faith sound asleep in her stroller and was sipping on a glass of sweet tea when the other Duke Women joined her. Seeing Daisy making a beeline to the stroller, Jo quickly said, "Daisy, if you wake her up, I'm calling Boss and telling him that you won't be in this afternoon. Instead you'll be busy trying to put Faith back to sleep."

Daisy made a face but backed away from the stroller and slid inside the booth beside Kim who had already taken the inside seat knowing that the pregnant woman would need to get out at least once while they ate to go to the bathroom.

"Faith's stomach still keeping her up?" Kim asked. She'd treated the infant for a mild upset stomach earlier in the week. It had been the first time that the nearly three month old had been sick and it had worried the new parents.

"I'm not sure she's kept much down and what she has seems to run right through her." Jo shook her head as she glanced back down at her daughter.

"I'll check her again after lunch." Kim began to glance through the daily specials to see what looked good to her today. She decided on the house soup since it was so cold outside.

The women all enjoyed their lunch together as they chatted about various topics. One of which was Darcy's job out at the airport as he had begun to take on longer flights to provide for his new family.

He was bound and determined to make sure that Daisy didn't feel the need to work after the baby was born unless she simply wanted to. He felt that it was his responsibility to be the breadwinner of the family and he took that burden seriously. As a result, Darcy had begun to take on some of the flights that the more seasoned pilots didn't relish. Meaning that he was left with flights at least three nights a week which left him tired and trying to catch up on his sleep during the day when he was home.

Still, when she came home from her shifts out at the Boar's Nest, he'd have a meal ready for the two of them to share together. Even if they were limited to being soup or other meals that he'd warmed up from either the can or refrigerator. Daisy was always touched by the effort but they also served to remind her that Darcy wasn't the best cook in the world. As a result, she had begun to cook several meals on her days off to put up in the refrigerator or freezer so that her new husband had more to work with when he chose to put his lacking culinary skills to work.

Once their lunches were finished, Daisy headed out to the bar to get ready for her shift as the other Duke Women returned to the clinic with the ailing infant. She had decided that she had now been married just long enough that she could get away with _suspecting_ that she was pregnant. So she and Kim proceeded to do the usual tests that she would do for a suspected pregnancy despite the fact that both women already knew the results of the tests. Once the tests return, Daisy would then be able to go public with her pregnancy that she has known for a month already. She could hardly wait until she could openly start shopping for her baby.

~01~

Kira glanced at her watch and figured that she'd best head on back to the hotel. She'd spent her day at the legal library more out of the desire to get out from under Jebb's watchful eye than out of the need to get any work done. The trial was over and she was setting up her paperwork for an appeal but really she could have done her work from home.

Could have but she hadn't wanted to. At home, ever since the family learned that she was pregnant, she'd been treated like fine china and she was sick of it. She was perfectly capable of running after the twins, cooking dinner, making up the beds, and sitting at her desk in her office without having someone in the family asking her if she needed their help for anything every fifteen minutes. She was pregnant, for God's sake; not dying.

So Kira had chosen to return to Atlanta in an effort to keep her sanity. What she hadn't anticipated had been Jebb's declaration that he planned to pack the boys up and go with her since he was no longer stuck at home now that both Luke and Bo were free once more. In fact, he figured that both men had owed him since it was only their absence that had kept him in Hazzard over most of the holidays when he knew that his wife wasn't feeling well in the first place.

While Kira spent her days in the library, Jebb took the boys to the recently remodeled zoo, the park, and even out to Placid to see his parents. Even so, Kira knew that the three blond Dukes would be waiting outside at three o'clock sharp with the expectation of her leaving with them.

Kira put her papers away in her satchel and headed on out of the library and saw her husband with their sons walking up right on cue. He hadn't varied his arrival more than a couple of moments all week long.

Glancing around before she left, Kira silently bade her sanctuary goodbye. Starting tomorrow, she'd be in Hazzard full time, once more. Afterwards, she had no idea just how long it would be before she would be able to once more grace the law library of Atlanta. A thought that didn't sit well with her.

~01~

Enos sat at the bar having his supper while watching the usual Friday evening crowd at the Boar's Nest. It was still quite early but he pulled the night shift so he wanted to get his dinner out of the way just in case the night turned ugly; forcing him to haul one or two of the bar's patrons in for the night which would leave him at the jail with nothing to eat.

As Enos ate, he listened quietly to the conversations around him for anything that he should know about. Folks tended to ignore him when he was around. As a result, he knew where most of the illegal stills in the area were as well as when most of the shipments went out. It was also how he was able to tip the feds off to the newcomers who had begun selling drugs just on the other side of the county line. There was very little that went on in the area that Enos didn't know about.

Enos took a sip of his buttermilk as he overheard a group of women over in the corner gossiping about the newly married waitress. Daisy has been seen going to the clinic much more often in the two weeks since she had returned from her honeymoon than she had prior to her marriage. Listening to some of the rumors as to just why that might be, he began to study Daisy and was concerned that there just might be a grain of truth in one of the rumors.

Enos knew Daisy's body well enough to know that behind the thick sweaters that she has been wearing to fight off the winter chill there was something different about her. First off, since when did Daisy wear jeans and sweaters during her shift? She'd always earned more tips when she wore her short shorts and skimpy blouses. True, she was a married woman now but he really didn't see Darcy making her change her wardrobe overnight.

While sitting at the bar, Enos watched Daisy as she moved around the bar and then counted her third bathroom trip since she'd started her shift. Considering she'd only been at the bar for a few hours, that surprised him. Putting everything together, Daisy's sudden engagement and hurried race to the altar now made sense to Enos. She must have already known that she was pregnant.

Glancing back to the table of women, he knew that the couple hadn't been able to fool the entire town. Here they haven't even announced the pending birth yet it was the biggest topic of the night with the female barflies.

Finishing his meal, Enos grabbed his hat. He wouldn't go far but he needed to clear his head with what he'd just learned.

~01~

Kim lain in bed long after Bo went to sleep as she thought about the latest letter that she'd received from the state prison. Or rather, from one of its residents. She should have known that a few cinder blocks and a fence of razor wire wouldn't be enough to keep her ex-husband from harassing her.

Married for only a few months and Ted has sent her more than dozen letters since Kim became a Duke. Of course she didn't feel that she could tell anyone about the letters either; especially Bo. She knew that he'd feel obligated to try to find a way to prevent Ted from continuing his letter campaign and right frankly, Kim didn't see that there was anything that could be done about the letters. He had already been given life in prison. Kim feared that if her husband knew of the other man's recent activities, he just might risk joining him behind bars as long as he had the satisfaction of getting his hands on him personally.

Kim rolled over as she tried to turn her thoughts off so she could sleep. An investigator was arriving in Hazzard the next morning and she wanted to be well rested when she and her uncle met with him.

~01~

Boss Hogg checked his watch and wiped his brow in relief as the last of the new medications were unpacked and placed on the shelves. Only hours before those same shelves had carried counterfeit medications that he'd purchased from his suppliers who have mysteriously disappeared.

Jefferson had been worried that the inspectors would show up before he was able to cover his involvement with the cheaper medicines that apparently were causing harm to some of the residents in Hazzard. Now, with only two hours before dawn, his men were hauling off the last of the fakes so there wouldn't be anything left to connect the recent surge of ailments in the county to him or his desire to cut costs. Now when the inspectors arrive in the morning, the entire stock of the pharmacy's medication would be found to be completely legit and no one would be the wiser that he had cleared out the whole store overnight.

As the commissioner closed up the pharmacy, he gave his men strict instructions on how to dispose of the contents of the boxes in the back of their vans and told them that he would pay them once he had proof that all of the medications were destroyed.

Across the street in a second story window of the small hotel in Hazzard, a man stopped recording with his camcorder. He closed the curtain and leaned back as he grinned to himself. Watching the man in white hang himself had put himself in a good mood. Now he just had to wait for the right moment to pull his ace out of is pocket and ruin the man once and for all.

~01~

Irving and Russell spoke with the inspectors before they began to take a full inventory of the store's stock of medications; starting with the ones that Irving knew his patients to be on whom had shown no evidence of the medicines in their systems. He then went over to the clinic to check on his niece before his shift over at the hospital was to begin. He hoped that the mystery of the medications could be solved once and for all. In the meantime, he had asked all of his patients to go over to the next county to refill their prescriptions. An inconvenience for them all but a necessary one for many of them.

Irving stopped off with Sue at the front desk who told him that the Bransons had just left with their son which meant that there weren't any patients around for the moment so he went on into Kim's office. He opened the door to find Kim bent over her desk updating a file. When he shut the door, his niece jumped in her chair as if she'd been shot.

"Its just me," Irving said as his niece tried to calm her own nerves after realizing that it was her uncle who had joined her in the room. "Are you alright? I've never seen you so jumpy."

"I'm fine. I just zoned out a bit. How's things going over at the pharmacy?"

"Fine, they haven't found anything out of the ordinary so far. The inspectors will be testing all of the medications but it looks like the lots that the faulty samples came from are all gone. Its the strangest thing."

"Not any stranger than having so many faulty medications at one time in the first place." Kim shook her head. "At least with the faulty ones gone, things should start gettin' back to normal again."

"True enough. Anyway, the investigators said that it may be a few weeks before they come to any conclusions." Irving asked if his niece wanted to go to lunch with him and Russell but she declined since Bo was planning to come to town for lunch since he would be needing to get some supplies for the new farmhouse today as well. He'd get them before heading back to the farm after meeting with his wife.

Irving then headed back out to join the pharmacist as they waited for the investigation into the medications to turn up just what all had been the source of the various maladies caused by the faulty medications that had been stocked at the pharmacy.

As the work day came to an end, Kim and Irving read over the test results of the medication that had been sent off to the lab days ago. It was the same for nearly every single drug that had been tested. There were no medicinal qualities to them whatsoever. They were nothing more than placebos. An entire pharmacy of sugar pills and not much else. It was no wonder that some of their more problematic patients have suffered more from their ailments as of late than normal. They had nothing in their system to keep their conditions in check.

The two doctors knew that they had two monumental tasks ahead of them. One was to find out just how something like this could have happened. The second one was to see to it that their patients received their proper medication and got them to start back on them right away.

~01~

Boss watched from his office at the courthouse as the investigators left the pharmacy and climbed in their cars and headed out of town. He let out a sigh of relief as he watched the cars head out of town knowing that he'd covered his tracks so no one knew that he'd been responsible, somewhat, for the faulty medications that the townspeople had been taking for the last several months.

He only wished that he could figure out where his supplier had disappeared off to just as folks were looking into the phony medications. How did they know that the medicines that he'd been buying were now under scrutiny? It couldn't all just be a coincidence that the number that he'd used to contact his suppliers for months now suddenly was disconnected now after all of this time. And if it wasn't, what could he do about it without drawing attention to the fact that he shared in the blame for so many in his county becoming sick in his county?

~01~

Daisy smiled broadly as she left the clinic after she had _officially_ learned the results of the tests that Kim had ran for her pregnancy. She knew that with Sue minding the front desk, all it would take would be for her to call her cousin over at the switchboard and the whole county would know that Daisy Kincaid, formerly Daisy Duke, had just learned that she was expecting a baby when the fall weather hit.

Now with the cat out of the bag, Daisy could finally start preparing for her baby openly instead of secretly as she had done since before Christmas. Hopping in her Jeep, Daisy knew that the first place that she wanted to go to was the baby shop over in Osage County that she'd taken both Kira and Jo to when they were pregnant. This time, however, the clothes that she'd be shopping for would be for her own little one on the way.


	18. Chapter 18

Jesse watched as the twins ran through the farmyard in the cool spring morning as the rest of the family worked on the new house at the old farm. The walls were up and the men in the family were working on the electrical and plumbing inside. Planting season would begin in earnest next week and the younger men had seen to it that Jesse would be able to take it easier this year. Figuring that painting would be better for the older Duke than working out in the fields from sun up to sun down. He hated to admit it, but he was sort of glad that he would be able to do the painting instead and do it at his own pace rather than feeling the pressure of trying to get the crops in the ground in a timely manner.

Over at the old picnic table under the shady oak tree, Jo was sitting with Faith as the infant took her bottle from her mother. Beside her, Jesse saw Daisy as she went over various paint chips as the two women decided on the best colors for each of the rooms inside. Grinning, Jesse couldn't help but notice just how much his niece's pregnancy was showing now as the spring weather was right around the corner. Her usual, petite form now sported a quite sizable baby bump that nearly rivaled her younger cousin's who was also pregnant and was just a bit further along than the brunette.

Thinking of Kira, Jesse wished that his youngest's pregnancy wasn't so riddled with complications. Already, Kim and Irving had recommended that Kira limit her time on her feet to only a couple of hours a day. Not easy since she has two very active two year olds at home. At least she hadn't been put on total bed rest; yet, anyway. Jesse was aware of the fact that the measure would have to be taken sooner rather than later since his niece's blood pressure had remained up despite the doctor's best efforts to try to control it.

"Uncle Jesse, what do you think of this shade of blue for the living room?" Daisy held up the sample for her uncle to take a look at as she spoke.

"Let me take a look and see. Yep, I like that one. It will go well with the color that was picked out for the kitchen, too." Jesse looked over at the little infant and asked, "What do you think, little lady? Do you like the color?"

Faith paused in her drinking to grin and babble at the patriarch of the family. That caused Jo to giggle at her daughter.

"I think she likes the color, too, Jesse. Say, do you know when Jebb and Kira are supposed to get back from town?"

"They'll be back just before supper. Kim told them that they'd try to see if they can find out if they're havin' a boy or a girl this time today."

"Or another set of twins," Daisy added with a laugh. "I think the last thing those two need is another pair of Duke Boys. I still hold with my opinion that Kira needs a girl or two to balance out the house over there."

Of course Daisy was hoping that not only her cousin would have a girl but she wanted one of her own, as well.

~01~

Kim finished up the basic appointment with her sister-in-law before having the ultrasound machine set up. She felt for the other woman knowing that she was conflicted. On one hand, she wanted her appointment to go as fast as possible since she generally hated being a patient at the office for any reason. On the other hand, she wanted to drag the appointment out since her prenatal visits were Kira's rare opportunities to ride out to town. She wasn't completely home bound but after both Kim and her uncle had asked her to take it easier than she already had been, she had seen her sister-in-law take the suggestion to heart.

Kim took the extra time to ensure that she didn't miss anything before she concentrated on the image of the infant on the screen.

"Well, does this one have any company in there, this time?" Kira asked from her place while lying back in the awkward chair that she never thought that she'd have another reason to be in after she'd given birth to her boys.

"I don't think so. No shadows to be seen like were noted the last time with the boys. What we do have here is a baby that keeps turning on me though."

"So you can't tell if we're havin' a boy or a girl?" Jebb asked just a bit disappointed. He was hoping that he'd be able to call back to Placid and tell his folks what they were having this go around. And yes, he was still hoping for another boy.

"I didn't say that. From what I see, I believe I can confidently tell you what you are having."

"Well?" Jebb prompted the other woman as he held his wife's hand.

"It looks like you'll need to set the nursery up with the plan of having tea parties in there in a few years. You're havin' a little girl."

"A daughter?" Jebb smiled despite the fact that he had been looking forward to having another son. A daughter could be fun, too. "It looks like Faith won't be the only Duke Girl after all."

"Just wait until the others hear about it, tonight at dinner," Kim joked as she eyed her sister-in-law, noticing that she had yet to say anything about the baby after being told that she was having a girl.

"You know, you'd better be planning to tell Daisy the same thing that you told us when she comes in for her own ultrasound in two weeks." Jebb thought of his pregnant cousin with a grin. "She's already been looking through Faith's old clothes and picking out what she wants to lay claim to. I'd hate for her to have an entire dresser of pink, frilly dresses with no little girl to wear them."

"Oh, I'm sure that if she doesn't get her daughter this time, she'll be gearing up for baby number two in no time." Kim, like the rest of the family, had heard the other woman claim that she wanted an entire house full of kids running around.

"Poor Darcy. It would be his luck that he and Daisy could end up like Grandma and Grandpa. Eight boys and not a single girl."

"I want to hear you tell that to Daisy. I think it'd break her heart to hear that she might not end up with a little girl of her own." Kim couldn't help but laugh at the idea of Daisy continuing to try for a girl for years and only end up with a house full of boys after insisting that Kira should dread the same fate.

~01~

"Jebb, how dare you suggest such a thing!" Daisy pushed on Jebb's shoulder after he told her his prediction of how she may not get the girl that she was dying for either this time or any other time if she took after their grandmother and only had a house full of strong boys to fill it up.

"You can't tell me that the thought hasn't at least crossed your mind," Jebb snickered.

"I can see it now," Bo joined in with his cousin/brother-in-law. "Daisy will be up to her eyeballs with boys and those pink frilly dresses that I just know she's already bought will end up in the attic unused, collecting dust."

"Well look on the bright side, she can just give them dresses to Kira and Jebb for their little girl if nothing else," Luke said being the ever practical one. Already, his brunette cousin had raided Faith's clothes that she'd outgrown with the hopes of being able to use the hand-me-downs in the near future.

"No pink," Kira said as she leaned over and cut Mikey's food up for him without looking up at the rest of the table.

"Oh, come on, Kira," Daisy shook her head as she spoke. "You can't have a little girl without dolling her up in cute little pink dresses. It ain't natural. She'll want to wear pink little jumpers, hair barrettes, sweaters, maybe even have a whole closet full of pink. It's only normal for little girls. Just because you don't like to wear pink simply because you have red hair, that doesn't mean that your little girl won't like the color and beg for it every chance that she gets."

Kira ground her teeth as her cousin continued to go on about all of the pink articles of clothing and accessories that her home would be littered with by the end of the year. She couldn't do it. She couldn't just accept that the one color that she'd been avoiding since she'd left the Morgans' when she ran away before she turned ten years old would soon fill her own home.

The husband had been a very touchy-feely kind of guy and he would walk up to each of the children and hug them at odd moments for no reason at all. He would also pull each of the three children that lived in the house into his lap from time to time as he joked and teased the girls. He had dressed each and every one of the foster girls in the household in the feminine color and told them constantly how lovely they looked in it. In fact, every time each of the girls would put on a new pink outfit that he'd bring home for them to wear, he always got a strange look on his face. The morning after he had taken his affection the next step beyond the hugging or pulling her into his lap, instead becoming a night time visitor after his wife was fast asleep, had been the morning that Kira had ran away that first time.

Every time that Kira saw the color, it was her time there at the Morgans' that she was reminded of. Whenever she had to wear it, she relived it. She would not put her daughter in a color that had always been linked to such horrid acts in her life. She just wouldn't.

~01~

Jebb climbed into bed after checking on the boys and slid in beside Kira and pulled her close to him. He waited until she rested her head on his shoulder before he asked her if she was alright. Despite her assurances, he doubted that she really was. He knew that the rest of the family didn't understand why she was so dead set against a seemingly harmless color but he did. He'd found out while they were still dating after he'd had the bad sense of trying to wake her up during a nightmare.

_Kira had gotten to Charlotte nearly a full four hours ahead of Jebb at the hotel that they'd both agreed to meet at and stay for the bike rally that was being held over spring break. She had felt guilty that she wasn't going back to Atlanta to see Ben but he'd assured her that if she wanted to spend the weekend racing that he was okay with it. Kira promised that she'd fly down the very next chance that she got while trying to keep up with her studies at Law School._

_After getting settled into her room, Kira kept glancing in the mirror wondering why she even cared what she looked like while not wanting to admit to herself that after being apart from Jebb for so long she really did want to make a good impression on him. Getting flustered at her own pampering of herself, Kira threw down the hairbrush and left her room to go see if the man in question was down in the lobby. Check In was over an hour ago and she really didn't think that Jebb would just not show up._

_When Kira made it down to the front desk, her heart gave a little flutter as she spotted Jebb leaning over the desk speaking in hushed, aggravated, tones. Kira watched as he ran his hands through his blond hair which caused it to stand on end in a very appealing way. As she got closer to the desk she could hear what the clerk was saying to Jebb to make him so frustrated._

_"I'm sorry, sir. When you didn't show we gave your room away. If you'd like, we could try to find you a room in one of the surrounding hotels but with the rally I seriously doubt that we'd have much success."_

_"How could you give the room away? I'm only an hour late!" Jebb slammed his helmet down on the counter causing the man behind the desk to flinch._

_"I'm sorry, but it is policy. At the end of Check In time, all available rooms become first come first serve. Like I-"_

_"Dammit, don't you have just one room left? I'll take anything." Ordinarily he wouldn't mind just heading off to find a campsite to spend the weekend but he really didn't want to go that route this time. For one, it was already too late to be wandering around in the dark looking for one. Two, if he didn't stay at least in some close proximity of his long-distance girlfriend it would sort of defeat the purpose of driving all of the way up to Carolina in the first place._

_"I'm afraid we just gave our last room away fifteen minutes ago."_

_"Look, I nee-"_

_"Jebb," Kira stepped forward to save the nearly cowering man from Jebb's frustration._

_"Kira?" Jebb turned embarrassed to face Kira with the knowledge that he was out of luck in regards to having a place to stay despite their planning of the weekend. "I...uh…"_

_"I heard. I suppose you could just come up and share my room." Kira tried to sound as casual as she could and shrugged as she spoke, "After all, we did come here to spend the weekend together."_

_Jebb's eyes lit at the suggestion since he suddenly felt like thanking Blake for his short-cut that had gotten him and the rest of the crew up to Charlotte an hour after Check In whereas a minute before he was ready to string him up for it._

_"Well, when you put it that way," the smile that crept across his face as he spoke was just too big to fight back as he grabbed his duffel bag, "lead the way."_

_Kira and Jebb then made their way to the stairs of the cheap roadside motel that they had agreed to meet at where they would now share a room in. Jebb was beginning to think that the weekend was about to turn out better than he'd ever hoped it would. That is until he opened the door and saw that Kira had rented a room with two beds. That was like a cold shower on his revving libido. Still, sharing a bed or a room, he was bound to at least enjoy the view from his side of the room._

_After unpacking, the two went out to the nearest fast-food chain and ate a small dinner (on Jebb since Kira had already paid for the hotel room). They then went back to the hotel and stayed up talking for hours to catch up since their last exchange of letters and caught up a bit on the making out that they'd missed since her last visit back to Georgia during the holidays. Eventually, they noticed that it was already after midnight and they needed to get some sleep; even if it wasn't exactly Jebb's top priority._

_Jebb let Kira take the bathroom first and was not disappointed when she stepped out in an over-sized t-shirt to sleep in that fell about mid-thigh; a nice change of pace from her long-sleeved blouses and jeans. Staying in his place on the spare bed, Jebb watched as Kira walked over to the bed and bent over to pull the comforter down to get ready to climb in. When Kira noticed that Jebb hadn't moved since she left the bathroom, she cocked her head to eye him._

_"Something wrong?"_

_"Nope." Jebb grinned as he caught a glimpse of what color of underwear Kira was wearing. "Just enjoying the view."_

_Kira grabbed her pillow and threw it at him as she snickered, "Go get ready for bed."_

_"Darlin', I'm always ready for bed." With that, Jebb slowly headed off to the bathroom knowing that he was going to have to take his time before coming back out with just his shorts on._

_When he got back out, Jebb saw that Kira was already tucked into bed with only the light on between the beds and he swore that he wasn't going to get a lick of sleep with her so close by. He briefly considered playing stupid and just climbing into bed with her but he knew that would likely only get him a kick in the groin and locked out on the balcony for the night. Instead he strutted out and gave her a light kiss goodnight then climbed into his own bed. After all, he hadn't gotten this far with Kira by being stupid._

_Kira was frankly surprised that he hadn't done more than cop a few feels during the course of the night and even more surprised that he accepted that, despite sharing the same room, she wasn't really ready to let things between them go further than that. At least she hadn't thought that she was before the weekend. The more time she spent with Jebb the more she could feel her resolve crumble. He always seemed to go out of his way to prove to her that he was not like any of the people that she'd known in her past. He wasn't about to hurt her and if that meant that he'd have to take cold showers after a night out then he had been willing to do that. Just one way that he'd proven over the last two years that he was a special man._

_Across the room, Jebb's prediction that he'd have a hard time getting to sleep proved accurate. He was still wide awake staring at the ceiling as he heard Kira's breathing change that signaled that she had fallen asleep. As he lain awake, he tried to figure out just why Kira was worth all of the aggravation that he seemed to endure willingly just to be around her. _

_The Lord knew that he could easily find another girl to eagerly share his bed. Heck, ever since word got out that he was dating Kira, several girls that liked to race with him and his friends had made plays for him. That was one thing that he just didn't get. Why was he lying here in an empty bed just feet away from Kira when he could easily have just gone and asked Pam, Kristen, Tiffany, or even Janet tonight if they would share their rooms if he had wanted a little personal company for the night. He was a normal Duke with the same urges that any guy would have while around attractive, eager, women._

_**Then why the hell am I forcing myself to live the life of a celibate monk?!**_

_Jebb turned and faced Kira's bed and noticed that her sleep was no longer as peaceful as it had started off as. Concerned, Jebb sat up and watched as Kira moved fitfully in her sleep. Eventually, Jebb figured that he'd better wake her up from whatever dream she was in the middle of. Moving over to sit on the other bed, he leaned over to put a hand on Kira's shoulder. When he did so, Kira's eyes popped open and she struck out and punched Jebb right in the jaw. _

_Caught off guard, Jebb couldn't understand just why Kira would react to him like that. As she continued to thrash around, Jebb realized that Kira was still asleep; she only looked like she was awake. Jebb took both of Kira's fists in his own hands and held on tight as he tried to wake her up. It took several minutes before she slowed her movements and began to look around the room as if trying to figure out where she was and why Jebb was on the bed with her._

_"Jebb?" Kira asked exhausted. As she began to wake, the memories that had surfaced in her dreams began to fade away, leaving her very confused. "What happened? Wha-"_

_"You had a bad dream," Jebb slipped up in the bed and pulled Kira up closer to him. "Want to talk about it?"_

_"Do I have to?"_

_"It might help ya get back to sleep." Jebb smoothed Kira's hair down and settled next to her comfortably in the single bed._

_At first he wasn't sure if Kira would share her dream with him or not since she was silent for several minutes. When she finally sleepily began to explain it, Jebb was surprised to learn that the dreams had actually been memories of her life before she'd run away from her foster homes. He listened as she told him about her first foster-mother who had really been a piece of work to say the least. She then had been sent to other foster families that had been no better. Hearing some of what she shared, it became more obvious why she had not been eager to become physically involved yet. Part of him wondered if she ever would be ready._

_After nearly an hour, Jebb was once more wide awake in the room as he listened to Kira's slow and steady breathing. This hadn't exactly been the way he'd hoped to be sharing Kira's bed tonight. This was just one more layer to her that showed just how complex she was. It also proved to Jebb that she had one hell of a right hook._


	19. Chapter 19

Ted looked at the calender and growled under his breath. Here he was, sitting on a cot in prison and his wife was probably cuddling up next to that Plow Boy of a new husband in that hick town that she lived in. He could picture both of them laughing at him, thinking that they'd never have to give him another thought. They were so sure that he'd end up rotting while locked away. The very idea that Ted could ever be the source of another problem in their lives probably sounded quite ludicrous.

Ted reached forward and ripped the page from the calender and wadded it up and tossed the page to the floor of his cell. If it was the last thing that he ever did, he'd make sure that his wife never laughed at him again. She had made him out to be a fool for far too long.

Hearing keys jangling, Ted looked up and saw the newest guard while he was on his rounds. Already, he could see a plan forming in his mind.

~01~

Daisy woke up feeling both nervous and excited. Today, she will finally get her first look at her baby. Kim had agreed to give her an ultrasound so that she could find out (hopefully) if she is having a son or a daughter. Daisy had been nearly afraid that her cousin's wife had forgotten about her wanting the sonogram done but Kim her know that she had scheduled it for today. Darcy had gotten the day off at the airport so now they were waiting to be called back into the room with the machine.

"Daisy?" Kim called for her husband's cousin when everything was ready. "Are ya ready to take your baby's first picture?"

"Oh yes, more that you know!" Daisy bit her bottom lip and fought her shaking hands as she began to get ready for the sonogram.

Kim said, "Just get settled in the chair. Here's a sheet. I'll need you to lower your pants down below your waist line and we'll pull your top up as we go."

"Okay," Daisy said.

Darcy helped Daisy get settled into the reclining exam chair. Once Daisy was ready for Kim to start the machine, Darcy took the seat next to his wife.

"Alright, it's going to take the machine just a second to warm up. I'll warn ya, Daisy, this gel is cool," Kim said as she applied the gel to Daisy's abdomen and flicked a few switches on the machine. When she searched the screen for the baby, Kim checked to make sure that everything looked the way it should. Satisfied, Kim turned the monitor around so that Daisy and Darcy could get their first glimpse of the new addition to their family. Both were unsure of exactly what they were seeing as they watched the small baby wiggle and squirm on the screen.

Kim watched with the couple a few minutes before asking what she already knew, "So do you want to know if you are watching your son or your daughter? Or can you tell already?"

"Kim, I swear if you make me wait any longer I'll-" Daisy started only to have Kim laugh and interrupt her.

"Alright, Alright," Kim said through her giggles. "Well, this right here is your baby's head... arms... then right here are the legs," Kim explained as she moved a pen along the baby's profile on the monitor as the parents squinted to try to see if they could tell their baby's gender.

"So are we looking at a girl or a boy?" Darcy asked. He knew that Daisy had her heart set on a girl. Personally, either a boy or girl was fine with him. Daisy meanwhile was biting her lip as she waited for the answer to her husband's question.

"Well, I can say this," Kim said with a smile. "I think you'll be glad that you didn't buy that dress that you saw the last time we all went shopping, Daisy."

"A boy?" Daisy asked for her cousin-in-law to confirm. When Kim nodded all wishes for a girl seemed to vanish as she started to picture how her little boy would look. She could decorate the nursery with planes and clouds, maybe even have a mobile with them on it. "Darcy, we're goin' to have a son!" Daisy said excitedly.

~01~

Sue sat in the Dixie Cafe with her cousin from the phone company as they both enjoyed their lunch and exchanged the latest gossip that each were privy to. As the two began to eat their desserts, Sue began to fill Maybelle in on the former Duke's pregnancy.

"I'm serious. She came in for an ultrasound today to find out the baby's sex. That means she had to have been pregnant long before the wedding!"

"It figures. Must have been the only reason that she and Darcy even tied the knot." Maybelle snickered as she glanced out of the window and saw a familiar figure walking down the street. "At least we know the baby has to be his. The only other person that Daisy was dating at the end of last year was Enos and everybody in Hazzard knows that he'd hyperventilate if a woman ever tried to have sex with him."

The two women giggled at the image of the town's shy deputy being taken advantage of by some random vixen.

"Well, at least this solves the mystery of why Daisy finally decided to get married and then did it in such a hurry," Sue said before adding, "Now the only mystery left is whether or not them fancy investigators have figured out why all of the medicines over at the pharmacy was faulty at the first of the year. All of those failed treatments for various ailments sure has made my life more difficult. What with tracking down all of the patients for the clinic and making appointments for them to come in and have checkups after the mix up. Any word on when they're coming back?"

Maybelle glanced around before she leaned forward. "I did hear that the investigators were given an anonymous tip and it was being looked into but no one has said what the tip was about over the phone. I keep listening but they're being very quiet when they are in town. Sorry."

"Well, not that it matters much, anymore. Most everything is back to normal now, anyway. I just hope that what ever caused all of the problems with the medications doesn't happen again. I don't think this town could handle another baby boom like our current one. Thirteen women all due within a month of one another. Thankfully, the two of us weren't among them."

Both women nodded in agreement before they continued their lunch.

~01~

Daisy pulled Darcy by the hand as they walked into the maternity shop that she had insisted on going to after leaving the clinic that morning. Daisy needed some new clothes and she figured that while she was getting them, she might as well as go ahead and get started on her baby's wardrobe. After all, the dresses that she'd swiped from Faith's hand-me-downs won't be getting used just yet. Next time, maybe.

"Aw! Darcy, look at this little outfit. Wouldn't a little boy look absolutely adorable in it?" Daisy held up a cute, blue onesie as she asked.

"I don't know, Days. I think it's a little small. I don't think it'd fit me."

"Oh, you." Daisy swatted at her husband as she put the outfit in her basket. "I should have known better than to ask you to come shopping with me."

"What do you want from me? One outfit is pretty much the same as the next at that age. Any outfit meant for a little boy will be fine by me."

"Men." Daisy shook her head as she turned back to the baby clothes. "You're just terrible."

"Maybe, but its pretty hard for you women to have a baby without us," Darcy said just before ducking another swat from his wife while laughing.

"Very cute, Darcy." Daisy gave her husband a dirty look before her attention was diverted toward yet another outfit for an infant boy. "Aw! We have to buy this one. Look at the little planes on it."

Darcy shook his head as he laughed as his wife began to fawn over the various outfits. He had the feeling that by the time she was done with her shopping, he may need to sign up for a couple of extra flights to pay for them.

~01~

Boss sat at his desk as he went through his mail and came across one that only had his name on it without a return address on the envelope. Curious, J.D. used his letter opener and tore it open and found a single piece of paper inside. Unfolding the letter, his brows creased as he read the simple message on the paper.

_I know that you are responsible for the faulty medications. You will do what I want or I'll turn everything I have on you over to the authorities. I'll be in touch._

_The Person Who Will Ruin You_

Boss dropped the paper as if it was a viper. After all of these weeks with no word from the federal investigators, he had begun to believe that he'd gotten off easy with the whole debacle over at the pharmacy. Now, he could feel a cold knot in the pit of his stomach. Someone knew what had happened and he had no clue just who they were.

Hearing Rosco out in the main room of the courthouse, Boss quickly put the note in his desk. He couldn't bear the shame of telling him that he'd been swindled after he'd learned of it at the beginning of the year. The last thing that he wanted the other man to know was that he had been duped.

"What am I goin' to do?" Boss wiped his brow to remove the beads of sweat that had gathered on it as he spoke. "I don't even know who sent the letter."

~01~

Two days later, Kira buckled her boys up after taking them in for their checkups with Kim at the clinic and prepared to take them home afterwards. She had even given both boys a small box of graham crackers to help calm them after they'd both been given their scheduled shots. Both blond little boys still had puffy and red eyes but they were finally calming down now that their mother was climbing in behind the wheel to drive them home.

Of course while they were out, Kira decided that if she was going to head to Capital City to pick up a few items that she needed for the house, she might as well as head there now. Kira doesn't get out of the house often nowadays and she enjoyed stretching out her errands a bit just to give her a sense of freedom that she sometimes missed while having her activities restricted so much now that she was pregnant. The men would all be out in the fields for a few more hours so she still had plenty of time to get home and get dinner ready.

Singing along with the radio, Kira drove toward the next county and didn't really mind it when she found that the Hogg Construction company was working on the road until she realized that she had to take the route by way of Iron Mountain. Usually she avoided taking the road into Capital City; ever since she was run off of the road while she was pregnant with the boys she felt uneasy while taking the narrow road.

Glancing in her rearview mirror, Kira saw that Jay was drifting off to sleep while Mikey munched on a cracker. Every time she drove down this mountain, she was reminded just how close she had been to losing both of her boys that day. Now she couldn't imagine her life without those blond little bundles of energy.

Kira noticed that her knuckles were gripping the wheel just a bit tighter than she usually did while driving. Forcing herself to loosen her grip, she told herself that there was no reason to dwell on what might have happened nearly three years ago when Shawn had hired men to try to kill her simply because she was pregnant. True she was once more driving down the mountain while pregnant but her adoptive brother was no longer a factor in her life.

As the bottom of the mountain came into view, Kira felt her heart pounding harder in her chest and she became slightly lightheaded. Worried, she decided she'd better pull over to the side of the road until the feeling passed. Fortunately the shoulder on the inside lane was wide enough to pull over. Kira pulled the car off of the road and she went to put the car out of gear as she felt darkness beginning to creep into the edges of her sight.

Fortunately, she was able to get the car out of drive; unfortunately, she put the car in neutral instead of park. As Kira passed out behind the wheel, her foot slipped off of the brake; causing the car to begin to roll forward down the mountain.

~01~

Jesse looked around as he finished painting the last room in the new farmhouse. It would be the guest room upstairs across the hall from both the nursery and playroom for the babies and kids in the family. Two rooms that he'd been convinced that he'd never have a need for just a few short years ago. The fact that by the end of the year there would be five young Dukes under the age of three had him tickled pink.

After cleaning the brushes, Jesse headed over to Jebb and Kira's since he had the feeling that his niece could use some help with getting supper started. In her condition, Jesse didn't want her trying to tend to the twins and cook all on her own. The fact that Kira rarely would actually ask for help only proved that she was just as stubborn as her father had been. He saw an awful lot of Michael in his daughter.

Jesse was still thinking about his brother and wishing that he'd gotten to live long enough to see his little girl returned to the family when he pulled up at the other farmhouse and noticed that the Stonewall Jackson wasn't out in the driveway. Knowing that his niece had planned to take the boys in for a checkup, he figured that it must have taken longer than she had expected.

Going inside, Jesse found a roast from a boar that had been set out to thaw so he went ahead and prepared it for the oven and then grabbed some potatoes and began to peel them so he could mash them to join the roast. Tonight, the whole family would be eating together at Jebb and Kira's since it was her night to cook. During planting season, the women had split the task of cooking for the men after they had a hard day out in the field since many nights Kim would be late out at the clinic or hospital and Jo had Faith to juggle with her household chores along with her painting. Taking turns helped all three women out during the season.

By the time that Jesse put the rolls in the oven with still no Kira or twins, he began to get a little worried. Grabbing the phone, he hoped to catch Kim at the clinic before she headed home. When she got on the line, he asked if the appointment with the boys had ran longer than she and Kira had planned.

_"What are you talkin' about, Jesse. It only took twenty minutes and that was hours ago."_

"Kira and the boys ain't still in town?"

_"No. You mean that they never made it home?"_

Jesse looked up as he heard Jo come in from the farmyard with Faith so he said, "Hold on, Kim. Jo, you didn't happen to see Kira on your way over here?"

"No, Jesse. Why?"

"Kim, do me a favor. Keep an eye out for the Stonewall on your drive home."

_"Sure. And I'm sure that she's alright. Kira probably just had a little car trouble on the way home, is all."_

"Well, when you find her, you CB me to let me know. Alright?"

_"Sure thing, Jesse."_

Jesse hung the phone up and let out a sigh. He could feel his big toe begin to twinge and he didn't like it. If Kira had trouble with the car, wouldn't she have called out for help on the CB?

"Jesse, what's wrong?" Jo put Faith down in the playpen that was set up in the living room as she watched Jesse walk over to stare out of the window.

"Kim said that Kira and the boys left out from town hours ago. Supper will be on the table in half an hour and they ain't here yet."

"Maybe Kira decided to do something with the boys and lost track of time. We've all seen how much she's been suffering from cabin fever lately. She probably just didn't want to come home before she had to. She's probably got it all timed out right down to the second and will walk through the door just as dinner is put on the table. You'll see." Jo saw that Jesse didn't believe her and part of her wasn't sure if she believed what she was saying, herself. Still, there was no point in worrying without knowing if there was a reason for it. "In the meantime, what do you need me to do to help with dinner?"

The two finished preparing the meal and had it ready to put on the table as Kim walked through the door.

"Kim, didn't you find her on the way home?" Jesse was quick to ask as soon as he saw the brunette walk into the kitchen.

"No. Jesse I-" Kim was interrupted as Jesse walked over to the CB and picked up the microphone.

"This here's Jesse Duke callin' out on the Hazzard Net. I'm lookin' for any word on Kira and the boys. Has anyone seen the Stonewall lately?"

As Jesse called out on the CB his nephews walked in, looking tired and dirty from the day's work. When they heard the patriarch of the family, all three men raised their heads in concern. It was Jebb who was the first to ask what was going on.

"What's this about Kira and the boys?"


	20. Chapter 20

Bo drove the General as he tried to sense his sister while cursing the fact that he hadn't been able to get her to answer him as he called out to her through their link. As soon as the men had walked in through the door to hear their uncle calling out on the CB for any word on the missing members of the family, any thought of dinner disappeared in a hurry. When no one in the county responded with news of the mother or children, the men each hopped into separate vehicles in search of them.

Luke claimed that he would head south in the Mustang, Jebb jumped into the green pickup and would search in the northern part of the county, and Jesse took his white truck and headed west. That left Bo with taking the eastern part of the county. As he neared Iron Mountain, he felt a twinge that made him feel like he was heading in the right direction. Concerned, Bo knew that if Kira had trouble while on the mountain the CB wouldn't be of any help to her. Still, that didn't explain why she wouldn't have called out to him, instead.

Taking the road that led to Capital City, Bo drove along the road, first up the mountain then back down. Just as neared the bottom of the mountain road, Bo felt sure that he was close to his sister. Slowing down, he checked the side of the road for any evidence that she had come this way. Looking off to the side, he saw a disturbance in the brush that looked trampled down. It didn't look like much and if one wasn't looking for it, a person might drive right by without paying it any attention. Pulling over, Bo got out of the General and was surprised to hear screaming.

"Jay? Mikey?" Bo went over to where the brush on the side of the road was trampled down and followed it to a gully where he saw the Stonewall resting among the brush and briars. The car was still on and Bo could even hear the radio playing softly. "Kira? Are you alright?"

Bo quickly made his way down the car and looked in through the window as he got close. Both boys were crying and screaming as he opened the driver's side door and found his sister slumped forward against the wheel. The side window was cracked and by the gash on Kira's forehead, she must have hit it pretty hard when the car rolled into the gully.

"Hey, Buddies. Looks like ya'll had a rough day," Bo said while trying not to let the panic that he felt seep into his voice. The boys were upset enough without him adding to their anxiety. "Let me check on your momma real quick and I'll get you on out of here."

Bo checked his sister for a pulse and was relieved when he found a strong one. Reaching over, he put the car in park and turned the car off. Walking around to the other side of the car, Bo opened the door and flipped the seat up to reach in and unbuckled his nephews. Both had on wet britches which told him that they'd been out on the side of the road for a few hours; long enough so that both of them had needed to relieve themselves.

"Come on, let's get you on out of here."

Bo helped each twin out and did his best to calm them down. He knew in addition to being cold and wet, they had to be hungry since it was hours after they were normally fed. Bo hugged both of the twins as they held onto him for several minutes after being left alone with their unconscious mother for the last several hours. He gave Jay and Mikey each a once over to make sure that they weren't hurt. Fortunately, neither looked like they had any injuries from the car accident. He felt the boys shake both from being upset and from the cool evening.

Knowing that he had to take care of the boys enough for them to let him tend their mother, he went around to get the bag that he knew that his sister and cousin kept in the trunk with extra clothes for the boys along with a spare blanket and walked them both over to the General. He striped their wet clothes off and quickly put some fresh ones on them.

"I'm going to see if I can wake your momma up now. How about ya'll climb in the back and I'll be right back?"

Bo hefted both boys and helped them in through the window of the General and watched as they settled into the back with the blanket from the trunk of the other car before he went back over to the blue Charger where his sister had yet to wake up. Carefully, he checked for any obvious injuries to her back or neck before gingerly lifting her and carrying out to take her over toward the other car. While doing so, he noticed that she, too, felt a little damp. Not wet like the boys but damp. In addition, Bo saw that his sister's shirt was stained with vomit.

Once he was over at the car, he laid her next to it and did his best to wake Kira up. Just as he was about to give up, Bo saw her eyes begin to flutter.

"Kira," Bo smoothed her hair as he spoke to his sister as she appeared to be struggling to wake up. "Come on, darlin'. You got to wake up."

Kira's eyes continued to flutter for a moment before she finally quietened once more. Checking her pupils, Bo saw that both were quite dilated. With his brows creased, Bo glanced back toward the Stonewall before looking up at the General. He knew three things. One, he needed to get his sister to the hospital. Two, trying to get her into the General could not only be difficult but dangerous too since he didn't know just what kind of injuries his sister had sustained in the wreck. Three, he had no hope of calling for help while he was still on the mountain which meant that he was alone with his injured sister and the twins.

After getting the emergency blanket that was kept in the trunk of the General out to try to warm his sister up, Bo went back over to the Stonewall to see just what kind of damage had been done to the car in the wreck. In short order, he realized that the car wouldn't come out of the gully without the aide of Cooter's tow truck. Knowing that he had little other choice, Bo headed back and gently put his sister into the General through the window. All the while, he was praying that he wasn't doing the wrong thing. He then went around to the driver's side and slipped in before turning around to his nephews. He knew that he really should grab their carseats but he didn't have a clue how he'd be able to get them in the backseat with the doors welded shut. Much less how he'd be able to strap the boys in once they were back there.

Looking at the back seat, he saw that his nephews had slipped off to sleep now that they were both dry and warm with the blanket. Turning back around, Bo put the car in gear and knew that this would be the most sedate, yet hurried, trip to the hospital ever. The drive seemed to take forever to Bo but soon he was pulling up outside of the emergency room. He turned and woke the twins up before climbing out and helping each of the Little Dukes out with him. He then went over to the other side of the car and carefully got his sister out as well. Carrying her inside, he got the attention of the nurses stationed in the emergency room. He told them quickly that he'd found his sister and the twins who were trailing him into the hospital after they'd had a car accident. A stretcher was brought out and Kira was placed on it before being rolled away to be examined as a nurse suggested that both of the boys should be checked out, too.

As the nurses bent down to ask the boys if they would go with her, both of them latched onto Bo's legs since neither were ready to be left alone without family after the day that they'd had.

"I promise, we won't hurt you," the nurse said with a smile as she watched both boys hide behind their uncle's long, lanky legs. "Your uncle can come with you. We just want to make sure that you didn't get hurt in the accident."

"Ma'am, is there a way I can call the rest of the family? We've been lookin' for these three since supper."

"Sure thing." The nurse then added, "Supper? I guess this means that these boys might be a little hungry. I tell you what, while you are on the phone, why don't I see if I can find some cookies for these little guys?"

Despite the fear that the two boys felt, the gnawing in the bellies won out. The idea of eating some cookies was very tempting. Both Mikey and Jay looked up to their uncle as he knelt down beside them to reassure them.

"I think that might be a good idea. What do you say, Buddies? Would you like a couple of cookies?" Bo smiled as both boys nodded. He then thanked the nurse and told both her and the boys that he'd be right in the room as soon as he was off of the phone. He promised the kids that he'd be just a minute. He then made his way to the payphone and called over to Jebb's where he'd left his wife and Jo when he and the other men ran out to look for the missing members of the family. He waited for the phone to ring and heard Kim's relieved voice on the other line.

_"Bo, thank God. I've been waiting for hours. The others still haven't found Kira or the boys yet."_

"I know. They were up on the other side of Iron Mountain."

_"So you found them. Wait a minute, why are you calling instead of using the CB? Where are you at?"_

"I brought them to the hospital. Kira had a pretty big gash on her head and she wouldn't wake up. She tried once but she drifted back off real quick. The boys seem to be okay but they're getting checked out just to make sure. I wanted to call so you can tell the others where we're at."

_"I'll get on the Net and let the others know right away. Then I'll head out there to the hospital to see if I can do anything."_

"Thanks. I'd best get back to the boys, now. After the day they've had, they were a little skittish to head off with the nurse. I promised I'd only be a minute."

After saying goodbye to his wife, Bo headed toward the exam room that both boys were in, sitting on the exam table and munching on a cookie a piece. "How's the cookies, Fellas? Good?"

The boys nodded as Doctor Petticord joined the Dukes and the nurse in the room. When he saw the little boys, he did his best to greet them in a way that wouldn't upset them and explained how he was going to check them over to make sure that they were both alright after the accident. After giving them a once over, he declared that he believed that they would be just fine. The doctor finished his exam and told Bo that just in case, he recommended that the family watch over them for any unusual symptoms over the next day or two but he didn't expect for anything to come up.

Bo was about to ask about his sister as the nurse escorted Jebb in to where he could find his boys. He went forward and hugged a boy with each arm and he could be seen to visibly relax as he held the blond bundles. Jay and Mikey both hollered out to their father in excitement at seeing him and held onto him just as tightly as he was to them.

"Are they alright?" Jebb asked both the doctor and his cousin as he turned to face the other men in the room, still holding toddler on each hip.

"The boys are fine. A little shaken up, but they weren't hurt," Doc Petticord answered.

"What about Kira?" Jebb asked.

"Mumma 'kay now?" Jay echoed his father's question about his mother.

Petticord eyed both men before answering the little boy. "I'm going to go check on your momma right now. Okay?"

The doctor ruffled the boy's hair before turning toward the door while indicating that he wanted to talk to Jebb. Both Duke Men caught the meaning so Bo suggested that he should take the boys down to the cafeteria to see if they could find some milk to go with the cookies that they were eating. He took both toddlers back from their father once he promised them that he'd join them in just a few minutes. As soon as Bo had the boys out of the room and the door was closed, Jebb jumped in with questions about Kira to which the old doctor had him sit down for the answers.

"I'm afraid that Kira may have suffered a concussion from the accident though we won't know for sure until she wakes up. She'll need to be monitored to make sure that there won't be any permanent damage as a result. From what your cousin told the staff when he brought her in, she has attempted to regain consciousness which is encouraging but the fact that she hasn't been successful is something to be concerned about. For now, we'll just have to wait and see. And I'm afraid that isn't the only bit of bad news that I have for you," Doctor Petticord paused before he continued, "I'm afraid that it has to do with the pregnancy."

Jebb's stomach knotted up as he heard the older man mention his unborn daughter. "The baby? What's wrong?"

"Kira has begun to leak amniotic fluid; likely caused by the trauma of the accident. Now if it remains a slow leak, we may be able to buy a few more weeks but once the fluid reaches a certain level, we'll have to deliver; regardless of how far along she is."

Jebb was quiet for several moments before asking, "The baby, will she survive?"

"To be honest, I don't know. The longer that we are able to postpone the delivery the better. Kira is only at twenty weeks now so even if we are able to stretch it out to three or four weeks, that is still very early. What we will do is start giving Kira some steroids to help speed up the baby's development of her lungs to give her a better chance at survival. Also, Kira will need to remain here at the hospital on complete bed rest. Getting up at all may speed up the leakage of the amniotic fluid. We'll also need to keep an eye out for infection."

Jebb absorbed what he was being told with silent worry. He was so relieved just moments before when he found out that his sons were alright but now he was being told that first his wife and next his daughter may not be.

"When can I see her?"

"I'm waiting for a room to be prepared upstairs. I'll let you into see her in the exam room down here real quick before you join your boys."

Jebb nodded his thanks and followed the doctor out of the room that had been used to check his boys out and headed down the hall to where his wife was on a stretcher. He saw the gash on her head and the evidence that she'd already been given stitches. A quick look at the monitor and even he knew that her blood pressure was higher than Doc Appleby wanted it whenever he would check it when he came to out to the house to see her or when they were at the clinic for a checkup. He wanted to remain with his wife but he knew that he'd promised his boys that he'd be only a few minutes.

Reluctantly, Jebb made his way to the cafeteria where Bo had not only found some milk to go along with the cookies that the nurses had given the boys but he'd also got them some spaghetti and was letting them go to town on the messy noodles. With the way that they were eating, it was clear that the two had felt half starved when they were found. His cousin was also joined by the rest of the Duke Men and Jebb knew that the women would be at the hospital in short order as well. Joining the other Dukes at the table, Jebb wasn't surprised to hear his boys asking about their mother as soon as he sat down. Catching his uncle and cousins' eyes, he tried to do his best to alleviate some of their anxiety.

"Momma is goin' to be just fine. She's a little sick and needs her rest so she's goin' to stay here at the hospital for a while. The doctor will get her a nice room and he's going to make sure she gets to feeling better and gets plenty of rest."

"Want see Mumma," Mikey said as his brother nodded his head in agreement.

"Momma is asleep right now. It's late and you two need to go to bed, too. We'll come back to see her first thing in the morning. Okay?"

Jebb could see his sons pout so he leaned in to hug both boys as he looked up at the other men.

"I'll stay here with Kira," Bo said from his place on the other side of the twins. He knew that Kim was on her way and once she arrived at the hospital, she would likely insist on staying to tend to his sister. By staying at the hospital, he'd be able to keep watch over both special women in his life at the same time. "I'll call you if there is any change."

Jebb nodded and stood up and encouraged the boys to do the same. Their food was finished and he knew that with day that they'd had, both would be needing to get some sleep soon. It was already past their bedtime.

After just a bit of a fight, Jebb got both of the boys home and cleaned them up for bed and went to get a shower for himself as well. Once he'd gotten back in his and Kira's bedroom, he saw where the twins had climbed into the bed and were fast asleep where their mother usually slept. Despite himself, Jebb fought back a chuckle as he climbed into bed to join his sons. Stretching out his arm, he snuggled with both of the toddlers in the same way he once had done a bit more grudgingly with his little sisters when they had snuck into his room when he was a teen. Now, he did so quite willingly; he was just glad that they were safe and sound, unharmed after the car accident from earlier in the day.


	21. Chapter 21

Bo stretched as he stood up after sitting by his sister's bed all night. Kim was in her office and he knew from the last time that he'd gone to check on her that she'd fallen asleep at her desk sometime around two in the morning. Now that the nurses were coming in to check on Kira, he figured he'd go see about getting breakfast for both himself and his wife. No one except the boys ate much of anything last evening so his stomach was definitely protesting that fact as he left the clinical staff to do their work.

When he got to Kim's office, Bo walked around to gently wake his wife who had fallen asleep with her arms draped across her desk. Brushing her hair away from her eyes, Bo leaned in to kiss his wife's forehead. When she stirred, he bade her good morning as he sat on her desk.

"Has Kira woken up yet?"

"She hadn't when the nurses came in. But it's still really early in the morning. If I was her, I wouldn't want to get up yet, either." Bo gave a grin as he joked since neither he nor his sister were known for being morning people. "Give her time. Though the minute she learns that she can't get up when she wakes up I'm sure that we'll hear about it."

Kim nodded since she knew that her husband was right. Still, as a doctor, she also knew what the fact that Kira had yet to wake up could mean.

~01~

The first thing that she noticed as she began to wake up was that her head hurt worse than she could ever remember. As she tried to open her eyes, the second thing that she noticed was that the light was far too bright. Groaning, Kira turned and blindly reached out in search of the lamp that was on the nightstand on her side of the bed. Funny, she didn't remember falling asleep with the lamp on. As she stretched out she felt an obstacle in her way. Peaking out from beneath her eyelashes, she realized that she wasn't in her own bed at home at all; instead, she was in the hospital.

Falling back against the mattress, Kira did her best to figure why she was in the hospital but couldn't remember just how she had gotten there. The last thing that she could remember was taking the boys to to see Kim at the clinic and then she... She what? The harder that she concentrated, the more her head ached.

Feeling the need to get up, Kira tried to work the side of the bed only to become frustrated at not being able to reach the release for the rails that rested just beneath the bed's frame. Sitting up slowly, Kira moved across the bed so that she could try to stand up. As she did so, an alarm sounded in the room and in only a moment, nurses began to filter into her room and insisted that she sit back on the bed.

Angry at being told that she couldn't stand up without telling her why, Kira swung widely at the nearest nurse trying to hold her down. She didn't know what was going on but she never let anyone push her around. Especially in a hospital. She wasn't going to move back up on the bed until someone explained to her both what was going on and where her children were.

~01~

Bo walked through the corridors as he headed toward the parking lot as he slipped an arm around his wife. As they walked, Kim promised him that she'd call home with any word on his sister when she had it. She knew that the fact that he was needed out at the farm was the only reason that he was leaving at all. They both knew that Jebb would be back at the hospital just as soon as both he and the kids were awake and ready for the day. With Jebb here at the hospital, the rest of them will be short-handed out in the fields and the family needed to finish getting all of the crops in the ground before it rained in a few days. The Dukes didn't believe that the rain would be heavy but it would make working out in the fields more than a little difficult.

Kim gave him a kiss before he walked out and climbed into the General Lee. She was still standing by the door and watching the orange car speed out of the parking lot as she heard her name being paged overhead. She was being directed toward her sister-in-law's room. Kim was willing to bet that meant that Kira was awake now.

Hurrying, Kim headed upstairs and even if she hadn't known Kira's room number, it wouldn't have been hard to find her since she could be heard arguing with Nancy, the nurse in charge of the floor. Kim fought a smile since she believed that the cranky old nurse had met her match when it came to a battle of wills. Of course, Kira hadn't been the only patient to express her displeasure at the nurse's bedside manner. She was, however, the only one that Kim had actually seen sending the old woman backing out of her room as if she was a first year graduate.

"Kira," Kim stepped into the room and mentally sighed a bit in relief as she took in her sister-in-law's appearance. While there appeared to be some mental confusion, it wasn't at a level that she would be concerned about. In addition, she didn't see any signs of any lasting injury from Kira's car crash. "Calm down. You were brought to the hospital after you had a small accident while driving, yesterday."

"Accident?" Kira tried to remember it but she couldn't. One thing that she did know, however, was that if she'd had a car accident her boys would have been with her. "Mikey and Jay; are they alright?"

"They weren't hurt. In fact, I'm sure that Jebb will be here in a little while with them. You, I'm afraid, were hurt." Kim indicated for Kira to sit back on the bed as she continued, "Sit back and I'll explain while I take a look at you."

~01~

Jebb walked down the hall with both of his sons hoping that he would find his wife in better health than when he'd left her. He'd spent the whole night thinking about Kira as well as their unborn child. He remembered all too well all of the problems that an infant born too early would face. His sons had been a bit premature but his daughter would be lucky to make it another month before she was forced to be born. From there, only God himself knew if she would live.

Pushing the door open to Kira's room, he was pleasantly surprised to see his wife awake, alert, and speaking with Kim. Just seeing her sitting up in bed made him feel as if a large weight was lifted off of his shoulders. Kira would be alright.

As the twins saw their mother, both shouted out as they rushed forward. Once at the bed, they tried to pull themselves up onto it to join their mother. Laughing, Kim lifted the nearest little boy up and set him down on the bed beside Kira as Jebb did the same with the other little blond bundle. Jebb then quickly brushed his lips across Kira's forehead in greeting before asking how she felt this morning.

"Lousy," Kira sighed as she wrapped an arm around each of her sons. "Kim was just informing me that I'm going to be bed-bound for a while."

"It could have been worse," Kim reminded her even though she knew that the redhead didn't want to hear it. If the accident had occurred just a little further up the mountain, the car would have gained enough momentum to have caused serious injury to not only the mother but her boys in the back seat as well.

"I know," Kira acknowledged. That didn't mean that she had to be happy about being confined to her bed already though. "So, when can I go home? If I have to be stuck in bed, I'd rather it be my own."

"Kira," Kim exchanged a glance with Jebb before she answered, "You won't be going home. For both your sake and the baby's, we'll need to monitor you and the leakage of the amniotic fluid."

"You mean I have to stay here until I give birth in August?"

"Not exactly. Kira, chances are, you won't be staying here longer than, at best, four weeks."

Kira glanced over at her husband and saw that he'd already been told about her extended stay as well as what it all meant. "Just four more weeks?"

Kira had so many questions running through her head but she couldn't voice any of them. She was afraid to hear the answers. She had been worried about giving birth to her twins too early. Now it would appear that she would be delivering more than ten weeks earlier than she had even with them. Could her baby even survive if she delivered that early?

"Mumma go home?" Mikey looked up from his place next to his mother as he asked. Meanwhile, Jay leaned in closer to his mother and yawned. His father got him up too early this morning and he was still very tired.

"No, Buddy. Momma's not going to go home just yet." Kira wished that she didn't have to stay in the hospital but she knew that she didn't have the luxury of following her own desires. In doing so, she would risk her baby's life.

"I'll see to it that you have anything that you need to make your stay as comfortable as possible." Kim stood up to leave the small family alone. She knew that after everything that had happened in the last day, some time together was exactly what they needed.

~01~

Daisy walked into the bar to start the evening shift and did her usual checks as she did so; wanting to get a feel for the crowd that had already made it to the old roadhouse. From what she could see, the customers were mainly just the locals with a face or two that she didn't recognize. Grabbing her apron, Daisy got right to work and started delivering drinks and taking orders.

She had just left the hospital where she spent some time with her cousin. She was glad that Kira would be alright but at the same time, Daisy was concerned for the baby. Here she had hoped that it would be fun with the two of them being pregnant at the same time. True, Daisy was having a blast while pregnant. Shopping for baby clothes, planning her nursery, even wearing maternity clothes that showed her ever growing baby bump. Kira's pregnancy, however, only seemed to be filled with anxiety. Especially now that a spike in her blood pressure appears to have been the cause behind her cousin's car accident. An accident that may yet risk the life of the unborn Duke Girl. Just thinking about it made Daisy want to go home and cuddle up with her husband and unborn baby boy and just thank God for her own little family.

Darcy would be in just before closing since, while he had some late flights, he wouldn't be flying overnight. That meant that tonight she would be able to snuggle with her husband for the first time all week. All of the night flights were starting to get on her nerves but she did understand why Darcy took so many of them. He wanted to make sure that she and the baby had everything that they needed. Especially since Daisy had begun to think about how nice it would be to stay home with the baby for a while after their son was born. Still, it would be nice to have her husband home more than two or three nights a week.

By the end of the night, Daisy found herself slipping off to sit down whenever she could and was grateful that with it being in the middle of the week the bar wasn't all that busy. She was also glad that Boss had gone home early tonight which meant she didn't have to look over her shoulder every time she took a few moments to sit down to rest her tired and worn out feet. Not to mention to rest her back, as well. She was rubbing the back of her calves when Darcy walked in.

"I thought you would have stopped wearing those heels of yours by now," Darcy said as he bent down to kiss his wife.

"What made you think that?" Daisy grinned even though she knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to wear her iconic heels to work anymore. She'd have to reserve them for the days that she didn't work for the rest of her pregnancy for as long as she could wear them.

"Maybe the fact that your feet have been killing you everyday by the time you get home. Besides, what did Kim say when you asked her about wearing them things while you're pregnant?"

"She said that it wouldn't hurt to wear them as long as I was still comfortable wearing them for a while, yet."

"You don't look like you're all that comfortable wearing them, to me."

Daisy gave her husband a cross look but couldn't deny that her feet were killing her.

"Hey, Daisy," Steve the bartender hollered from across the bar. "If you want, we're almost done here. Why don't you head on out of here? We'll take care of locking up."

Daisy looked around at the nearly empty bar before gave Steve a grateful smile and agreed to head out for the night. She had less than an hour left of her shift and she was looking forward having Darcy home with no flights at all for two full days.


	22. Chapter 22

Kira did her best to relax as Doc Appleby performed the daily examination to check on the baby. Each day, either he or one of the other doctors would check the level of her amniotic fluid to see if she had lost more than was safe for the baby. During each exam, Kira dreaded being told that today would be the day that her unborn daughter would be forced to join the land of the living whether she was ready or not.

Irving, meanwhile, was feeling cautiously optimistic. He hadn't wanted to get his patient's hope up too soon but this was the third day in a row that he found no leakage in the amniotic fluid. After finishing his examination, he waited for Kira to sit back up and get comfortable once more in the bed before he declared that he had news for her. The moment that he did, he saw that he should have made it more clear that the information that he had to pass on to the mother-to-be was positive since he saw a stressed look take over her face.

"News?"

"Yes, Kira. Good news, in fact. Something that I think that you could definitely use." Irving gave his best smile as he tried to abate the woman's nervousness. "It would appear that the small tear that was causing the leakage of amniotic fluid has repaired itself."

"How could it do that?" Kira asked since she had pretty much been told to expect the worst once she was admitted into the hospital.

"Actually, we don't really know how or why the body can repair itself sometimes but doesn't in other cases. However, the good news is that your body has been able to do it."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that the danger to the baby of being far too early has lessened considerably."

Irving watched as what he was telling Kira sunk in. Knowing the stress that his patient had been under since she had first learned that she was pregnant, he felt that he didn't need to add that they were still a long way from the baby being completely in the clear. There was still a long road to be traveled but for now the good news could only serve to benefit both mother and child.

"Now, I will want you to remain here in the hospital until the end of the week and if everything stays the way they are today, I'll release you to go home. You won't be able to go about your normal life, mind you, but you will be able to at least relax in your own bed."

"Really?" The idea of being able to go home was the best news that she'd heard in weeks. Not to mention that her baby had a chance to make it closer to a safe due date. She could feel every muscle in her body begin to relax as the fact that she would no longer be dreading word on her daughter on a daily basis fully took root.

"Really. I'll be back in the morning to check on you. In the meantime, how about you relax and wait for the rest of the family to come see you. I'm sure that they will all be ecstatic to hear the latest news."

Kira bade the doctor goodbye and was smiling ear to ear as she reached over to the stand that held her keyboard. Jebb had brought it to her over a week ago to give her something to do other than watch programs on the closed circuit television. She also had several novels and she had even been able to convince Kim to bring her some of her law books and journals since the other woman could sympathize with her about wanting to keep up with her career while stuck in bed.

Feeling in a better mood than she had in a long time, Kira began to play a little tune by ear. In no time at all, a simple tune began to take shape that resembled a lullaby.

~01~

Kim listened as the rest of the family began to make plans for Kira's return home. Among the preparations to be included was the nursery. Jebb's mother, who had shown up earlier in the day after declaring that she was needed around to help with her grandsons, seemed to be at the forefront of organizing the decorating of the nursery for the pending birth. As much as Kim wanted to be as enthusiastic as the rest of the family about the latest news given to the soon-to-be parents, she knew all too well that there were still many variables that could influence the pregnancy. Not all of them in a positive way, either.

As the family each added their opinions on what should be done to the room, Kim held her tongue. By the time that the family all began to go their own ways for the night, Kim's silence finally piqued Bo's interest as they walked into their cabin in the woods on the Duke property.

"You were kind of quiet tonight. You okay?"

"Yes. I was just thinking..."

"About what?"

"I know that everyone wants to help out in what ever way they can with Kira and the baby and all. It's just that I'm not sure setting up the nursery just yet is the way to do it."

Bo eyed his wife as he walked over to the refrigerator to grab some buttermilk to drink. "Why not?"

"There is still a long way to go before the baby is truly out of the woods. If something was to happen to her," Kim paused as she remembered her own experience of losing a baby just a few short months before he was due. "If the baby doesn't make it, walking into a fully furnished nursery will be the hardest thing that Kira will ever do."

Bo saw a tear threaten to fall from Kim's eyes that told him that she was speaking from experience. He put the milk down on the counter and went over to wrapped her in his arms. It was sometimes too easy to forget what all Kim had lost to her ex-husband; among them being her own child and the ability to have any other baby in the future.

Seeing how the memory of losing her own child still could affect her so much after all of this time, Bo truly hoped that his sister wouldn't face losing her own baby. After all, no woman deserves to lose her child. Especially the two women that he loved most in life.

~01~

Three days later, Kira sat in the Stonewall Jackson as Jebb drove it toward their home on the outskirts of Hazzard. It had been a long three weeks since she had seen the outside of the hospital and she was enjoying every moment of the ride. As the two relaxed as they drove home, Jebb informed his wife that the whole family, his mother included, had been planning a surprise ever since they learned that Kira would be allowed to return home today.

"Your mother? Helping with a surprise for me? You wouldn't happen to know what it is, would you?"

"Nope. Everyone's been real tight-lipped about it. But I doubt that the others would help with a surprise that they thought that you wouldn't like. In any case, it'd be a shame to let the family's hard work go to waste."

"I suppose." Kira shook her head since she really hated surprises. But as Jebb said, she didn't want to disappoint the family so she could at least act like she appreciated what ever the family had gone in to do while she was gone. How hard could it be? If they wanted to throw a party or something when she returned she could be a good sport and try to have a good time.

When the two finally arrived home, the family came out of the house and greeted them. Kira waited until her boys were nearly to the car before opening her door and reached forward to hug them. She then stood and greeted the rest of the family as she made her way toward the house. Once inside, streamers could be seen where the family had decorated the house for a true welcome home party. It was clear that a lot of thought had gone into the preparations of the party from the decorations to the food. Jesse's crawdad bisque was served for lunch and Pauline had made a chocolate chess pie for dessert.

Soon, the fact that Kira was not to remain up out of bed for long drew an end to the festive party. Before heading up to bed for her mandatory rest for the sake of the baby the family had one last surprise for her. Daisy gushed that she and Pauline worked together to plan it while the rest of the family had agreed to help.

"Really?" Kira asked since she had a hard time picturing her mother-in-law helping with a surprise for her. She followed the two women as the rest of the family followed her up the stairs where she was led toward her sewing room across the hall from the boys' bedroom.

"We wanted to show just how much faith we had that you and the baby would be alright," Daisy added before Pauline continued for her.

"We thought about setting this up across from your bedroom down the hall but figured that you and Jebb would rather have both of the nurseries right together. So we moved your sewing room down there instead."

Pauline pushed the door open then waited as Daisy pushed her cousin through to take in the newly decorated nursery. Inside, the boys' old crib was set up with a new baby blanket that Pauline had brought with her from Placid with matching curtains. On the floor there was a new area rug that was added to bring warmth to the room. The walls had been painted to match the other accessories and all of them were various shades of pink. Over at the new dresser that had been put in the nursery to hold the unborn baby's clothes, drawers were opened slightly to reveal an abundance of outfits that had been bought for the baby, most of which were pink as well.

Daisy told her cousin that while she had Jo raid Faith's older clothes to pass them down to the new Duke Girl on her way, she and Pauline had gone shopping for new clothes and blankets for the new baby. She reached out and picked up a tiny pink dress and held it up to her cousin as if trying to see how it would look on her before asking, "Isn't this the cutest thing you've ever seen?"

Jebb made his way past the rest of the family who were still in the hall waiting for Kira's reaction to the new nursery. When he finally got inside and saw the pink room he looked to his wife and saw that she was completely motionless and staring at the dress that Daisy was holding up against her. All around, the rest of the family were smiling so proud of the surprise that they had worked hard to pull off for the mother-to-be. He just didn't know how to tell them their work wouldn't have the effect that they had hoped. Jebb stepped forward to his wife and put his arm around her only to feel how stiff she was in response to the pink room. He could feel her skin was cool to the touch and he was certain that he felt a tremor begin to run through her.

"Well?" Pauline asked her son since it was clear that her daughter-in-law wasn't going to thank her and the rest of the family for their work in the new nursery. "What do you think?"

After glancing toward the rest of the family, Jebb suggested to Bo, "Why don't you take the rest of the family back downstairs. I'll be down there in a minute to explain."

He didn't know how much about her dislike of the color Kira had shared with her brother but he saw his own concern for her when she hadn't reacted the way the rest of the family had expected her to do in response to the nursery.

"Right." Bo motioned for the rest of the family to join him down the stairs. He waited as both Daisy and Pauline were the last to leave the nursery behind; Bo then exchanged a look with Jebb before heading back downstairs as well.

Once the others had left, Jebb led his wife toward their own room. He then sat with her on the bed and held on to her as he waited for the memories that he knew were flooding her mind to pass.

Downstairs, Pauline let it be known just how ungrateful she found her daughter-in-law to be after the whole family had taken it upon themselves to put together an entire nursery for her. After all, considering the fact that Kira was to remain on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy, doing it herself would have been a bit difficult.

"I tried telling you not to go so overboard with the pink," Bo said as he sat down next to his wife. He was beginning to think that Kim's own doubts about the nursery turned out to be very founded. Especially after seeing Kira's reaction to the room.

"Why shouldn't we have used pink?" Daisy asked from her place beside Darcy on the couch. "Jebb and Kira are having a little girl, after all. I know if I was having a daughter, I'd want a pink nursery."

"We know," Luke rolled is eyes. Personally, he would have liked to have avoided a pink nursery as well. He didn't understand why folks insisted on making sure that everything that had been given for his own little girl was the same color as the room upstairs. Little girls do wear other colors than just pink, after all.

"We all have our own preferences, Daisy," Jo said from beside Luke. In her arms, she held her own daughter whom she had dressed in a yellow jumper that day. While she enjoyed putting her daughter in various outfits, not all of them were pink. In fact, she had bought Faith a few outfits that were more camouflage than anything else.

The family remained downstairs for nearly an hour before Jebb joined them looking very haggard. Looking around, he was glad that his sons weren't in the room with the rest of the Dukes since he felt that they were far too young to understand what he was about to explain about their mother. He figured that someone must have put them down for their nap while he was with Kira. Grabbing a chair from the kitchen table, he drug it into the living room and spun it around backwards before straddling it and resting his arms across the back.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him expectantly, Jebb ran his hands through his hair. "I suppose that I should explain what that was about upstairs. I know that all of you worked very hard on the nursery, and believe it or not, Kira knows and appreciates that too."

"She certainly had a funny way of showing it," Pauline said as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Pauline," Jesse said simply in hopes that his sister-in-law would settle down long enough for the rest of them to hear Jebb's explanation. All the while, he was wishing once more that his brother had been able to come to town with the stubborn woman. Still, he understood that it hadn't been practical at the moment. John was needed on the farm and their girls were still in school.

It was Bo who spoke up next. "This has to do with her past, doesn't?"

Bo, while knowing more about Kira's childhood than the others due to his link, fully acknowledged that there was still much that he didn't know. He did know that she was still haunted by a lot of what she lived through which is why she tried to act so tough the majority of the time. She was afraid to let others see her when she was vulnerable. Which is exactly what he saw from her upstairs. A vulnerable part that she tries so hard to keep hidden away.

"Yes. And the color pink, hard as it may be to understand, is a big part of it." Jebb saw Daisy start to speak up so he raised a hand to stop her. "You know that Kira bounced around to various orphanages and foster homes when she was little, before she ran away and spent the rest of her childhood on the streets."

Most of the Dukes nodded their heads as their spouses absorbed something new about the woman that they cared for.

"There was a reason behind her running away." Jebb swallowed hard since telling of the horrors that he knew that his wife had endured only made it too real for him. He tightened his grip on the back of the chair that he was straddling and his knuckles turned white from the effort. "Most of the families that she was sent to live with before she left only took in little girls. Especially the last one. While living there, all of the girls were only dressed in pink dresses and were constantly told how pretty they looked in them by their foster father. As a result, he constantly would find reasons to touch them."

"Which is one reason why she's never been all that comfortable with touch? That and then there was Selma," Bo said as he remembered the woman who was physically abusive to the children in her care.

Jebb nodded as the rest of the family glanced between the two men who knew Kira the best. Jesse had spoken with Kira about some of her childhood when she had first come to Hazzard all of those years ago but he hadn't pushed her to share more than she had been comfortable with. Even though he hadn't been told everything, he had feared what Kira hadn't told him. Now with Jebb beginning to fill in the blanks, he suspected that her life had been worse than he had originally believed.

"Yes, and why it took nearly eight years for Kira to trust me enough to marry me." Jebb said that last bit for his mother's benefit since he felt the need to show her that his wife had never been one go from man to man after she had accused Kira of having an affair at the end of the last year. "Anyway, that guy," Jebb gritted his teeth as he continued, "he had the habit of visiting the girls in their rooms at night. And it wasn't just to check on them."

All around the room, eyes flashed in anger as they understood what Jebb was telling them.

"Dear God," Jesse could be heard saying as he heard Jebb confirm what he had been afraid he would once he sat the family down.

"Are you sayin'-" Daisy came up short when she saw her cousin lower his head in confirmation. "So the pink? It what? Reminds her of her time in that house?"

Jebb nodded. "I didn't realize just how much it affects her until after Emma and Emily's room was painted upstairs. After the girls left out that first time, she had gone in there to change the linens and didn't come back out. I ended up finding her curled up in the corner like a scared child. She's never been able to go back in there since then."

"How did you find out about all of this?" Pauline asked as she found her eyes drifting over toward the staircase.

"Back when were were dating, we were at a bike rally and I heard her in the middle of a bad dream. I got up to go check on her and decided to wake her up and ended up being the recipient of one hell of a right hook. Once I got her to talk about her nightmare, I realized why she always had her guard up."

Luke felt his nostrils flare in anger at what his cousin had lived through when she was younger. He knew from experience that Kira did tend to have flashbacks to her younger days, something that they had bonded over when Bo had first brought her home, but he had always assumed that it had been because of the physical abuse that Bo had told him about. Now he knew that she had more trauma in her life than he had thought.

"So what do we do now?"

"First thing we're goin' to do is repaint that nursery," Jesse said as he slapped his hands on his knees. All around him the rest of the family nodded in agreement.


	23. Chapter 23

The next morning while the men were out checking on the newly planted crops, Pauline took Kira's breakfast up to her after she saw to it that the twins were fed and were playing in their room. Ever since the day before she hadn't been able to stop thinking about what her son had told the family about just why Kira had such a phobia of the soft and feminine color that the family had painted the nursery. In the past, she had been told of some of what her daughter-in-law had lived through; though it was sometimes easy to forget. Especially when she and Kira fought.

Many of those fights, Pauline could admit to herself, were usually sparked by her own insecurities where Jebb was concerned. For all of his life, she had been the most important woman in his life. At least she had been before Kira had come along. Of course she had no idea that Jebb had known her for nearly as long as he claimed the night before.

Eight years!

How could he have known her that long before they had even gotten married? It was hard to believe that her son had hidden a relationship with anyone for so long. True, that was just how long they had known one another, not necessarily how long they had dated but still!

Pauline balanced the food tray as she opened the door to the bedroom and found that Kira was sitting up and reading a book in bed. Making her way to the bed, Pauline put the tray with bacon, eggs and toast with milk down next to her daughter-in-law. She didn't know if this pregnancy was anything like Kira's last one but Pauline did remember that the other woman hadn't been able to handle anything sweet in the morning.

"Good morning," Pauline said as she arranged the tray beside Kira and unfolded her napkin before reaching out to hand it to her. "Did you sleep alright?"

Kira glanced at her mother-in-law before shrugging. It wasn't like Pauline to make small talk with her. Reaching to take the napkin from her, she said, "It was alright."

Pauline waited as Kira picked up her plate and began to eat her breakfast after muttering a thanks for it. When it became evident that Pauline was waiting for something, Kira looked up and asked if there was something else that she wanted.

"Kira, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry about yesterday." Pauline sat on the bed facing the younger woman as she continued, "We, I, didn't plan for any of that to happen. And the nursery will be repainted today."

Kira gave her an odd look before she realized what Pauline was referring to. "Jebb told you."

"Well, yes," Pauline's eyes remained downcast as she spoke. "And I actually wanted to discuss that with you."

"Pauline, it's really not something that I want to talk about."

"I know. But it is something that I want to talk about."

Pauline stilled herself as she had never spoken openly about what she planned to tell Kira. Not even to her husband, John. She never thought that there had been any reason to.

"I was born towards the end of the Depression. Unlike for many families, mine survived it fairly well. Just before the crash of twenty-nine, my father's family cashed out most of their bonds in order to invest in several silver mines; both here in the state and elsewhere. That meant that the family had most of our money in hand when the crash hit; my family hadn't put any money in the mines yet when everything started to go crazy in the country. As a result, my family escaped much of the hardships of that time, especially when they were able to later start farming at the beginning of the second war and sell cotton to the government.

"Still, I had an uncle who took the temporary loss of some of his wealth a little hard. He ended up taking to the drink more and more often. By the time I was born, he spent much of his evenings drowning in his bottle. As a child, I was naïve and found him to be amusing much of the time. That is until I began to grow older."

Pauline paused as she remembered her own teenage years. She remembered how as she aged her uncle would find more reasons to come to the house, both when her parents were home and when they weren't. As she reached maturity, she soon learned what the term lech meant.

"Eventually, there was a time when his eyes' habit of wandering reached his hands." Pauline saw Kira's eyes widen at the statement. "Rest assure, he didn't take my virtue, not that he didn't try. Of course in those days, there was no sympathy for young girls who caught the eye of older men. Girls were blamed for inciting such attention. Regardless of how young they were. Then, much like now in many instances, girls were expected to keep quiet about what they went through; shamed for something that was never their fault. But the shame should never be felt by those who were only victims of selfish men.

"When I told my parents, the first thing that they did was send me to finishing school as a way to hide me away before anyone could suspect what had happened. Even though I tried to tell them that it wasn't necessary. Still, they were concerned about what others would think if anyone found out about it. I was taught to put on a good face and to put the well-being of the family first. A lesson that I guess was drilled in just a bit deeper than I thought. When I was allowed to return home, I never mentioned it again to anyone. I did my best to never even think about it."

Kira eyed her mother-in-law as if seeing her for the first time. Pauline had always come off as being so prim and proper; almost above reproach. To think that she had at one time fought off the unwanted attention of not just any man but a trusted relative, it was unimaginable.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't. You know better than anyone else how difficult it is to tell even the ones you love and trust." Pauline gave her daughter-in-law a comforting smile. "I just thought that you should know that even though I can't imagine what you went through, I do know what it is like to have a part of your life that you are ashamed to tell others about."

Kira nodded and returned her mother-in-law's smile; feeling oddly connected to her in a way that she never had before.

Hearing the door open, both women looked up to see the twins dragging some of their toys behind them. They declared that they wanted to be in the room with their mother and smiled as they began to play on the floor; effectively ending Kira and Pauline's conversation.

"I'll let you eat your breakfast." Pauline got up and headed back down to the kitchen to clean up.

~01~

Daisy scanned the paint chips for a color that she felt would fit a little girl to use to repaint the nursery over at Kira and Jebb's. She felt bad that her original choice hadn't gone over as well as she had hoped but at least she now knew why her cousin avoided the color pink to the extreme that she always did. After all of the times that she had tried to get Kira to add a little color to her wardrobe, including the weddings when Kira had worn bridesmaid's dresses of the color that brought her so much pain, Daisy now regretted her choices. She just wished that her cousin had trusted the rest of the family enough to tell them what bothered her so badly about the color pink before now. She would have understood. At least, Daisy was trying to understand.

Daisy found a light shade of lavender that she thought would look nice in the nursery. Smiling, she decided that it would be feminine enough to suit a baby girl. She purchased a couple of gallons of the paint and headed back out to the farm to leave it for Jebb to use to paint the baby's room. After visiting with her cousin and aunt who would be returning home the next day, she then headed home with her own buckets of paint. She had chosen a light blue for her son's room and she figured that it was time to apply a fresh coat of paint to her own nursery as well. She was so excited about doing the painting that she decided that she could have the room painted before Darcy even returned home the next morning from his overnight flight.

Fortunately, the nursery was empty since she was still looking for the right furniture so all she had to do was put down a sheet to protect the floor and she taped up the window and door. Daisy got her painting supplies together and got right to work. She spent the next couple of hours painting the baby's room and when she was finished she stood back and grinned. The paint was still wet but she couldn't wait to see it once it was dried. Getting cleaned up, Daisy took her shower and headed on to bed for the night.

Hours after she fell asleep, Darcy returned home after his last flight of the night was canceled. The first thing that he noticed when he walked in the door was the overwhelming smell of fresh paint despite the fact that every window in the house was opened. Making his way down the hall, he found that the smell of paint was coming from his former spare room turned nursery. Turning on the light, he saw where Daisy had taken it upon herself to go ahead and color the walls. He appreciated the shade of blue that his wife had chosen but he did notice that she had failed to prime the walls first and it was clear that she had only used one coat of paint. As a result, Darcy could see where the paint had dried a bit thin in places and the white that had been on the walls before bled through in spots.

Shaking his head, Darcy striped his uniform off and grabbed a brush and started to apply a second coat of paint. He paid extra attention where the blue paint that was already on the walls was a little thin. Once he was finished, he cleaned up the brushes and left them in the kitchen sink just as Daisy had done after she had painted the night before as well. He then slipped into bed to join his wife.

The next morning, Daisy was eager to show off her start on the nursery. Seeing the paint dried, it looked better than she had thought it would have. Darcy did tell her that she probably shouldn't have done all of the work alone in her condition but she pointed out that she'd left all of the windows open so she had been fine.

Later in the morning, Daisy convinced Darcy to go shopping with her to start putting the nursery together. By the evening, the two were putting together a new crib that their son would be sleeping in, in just a few short months.

~01~

Jesse sat in his chair as he watched the Duke children. The twins were playing with some toy cars and pushing them across to one another as they waited for their father to pick them up after taking care of the chores that needed to be done today before picking them up for lunch as had become their custom since Kira had returned home.

Just a bit closer to Jesse, Faith was on the floor and he smiled as the five month old grabbed for her ring toys. Once she had them, she began to gum the rings. Jesse had agreed to watch the infant while Jo etched out a bit of time to work on her paintings a couple of times a week. He was happy to do it since he knew all too well that children don't stay this young for long and every moment with them was something to hold on to.

When a breeze blew outside, Jesse heard his wind chimes play a soft, tinkling melody and he laughed out loud as Faith stopped and looked up searching for the source of the music. He loved seeing how every new sound affected the tiny infant. He could see Luke in the girl's expressions at times and he couldn't wait to see how she would grow as she got older.

As it got closer to midday, the infant let it be known that she was hungry so Jesse got her bottle ready knowing that it wouldn't be long before Jebb would pick up his boys to take them home to have lunch with he and Kira. Afterwards, the twins were then allowed to keep their mother company. Something that Jesse was sure helped to break up the monotony of the day for his niece. Definitely something that Kira was bound to be thankful for considering she was now only twenty-five weeks pregnant with a long way to go (hopefully) before her daughter will be born.

~01~

After lunch, Jebb sat next to his wife as their boys climbed into their bed for their naps as had become part of their routine since Kira had returned home. They loved snuggling with their mother as she would read to them and Kira enjoyed the fact that it gave her something to do as well as some quality time with her sons. Most days, Jebb would head back out to work the farm after having lunch with his family but today it was raining which gave him a good excuse to carve out an hour or so to just lie back with his boys and wife.

Already, Jay's eyes were getting very heavy as he listened to his mother read a story about a magical land while his brother leaned against Kira's stomach and did his best to resist getting as sleepy as his twin. As Mikey rested as his mother continued to read he felt as if something bumped the back of his head. Sitting up, he turned and saw his mother's stomach move on its own.

"That was the baby moving, Mikey." Kira chuckled as she watched the movement of her stomach gain the toddler's attention away from their growing weariness. When she and Jebb told the boys that they were going to be big brothers, Kira knew that they didn't really understand that the baby was in her stomach. Nor did they understand why Kira staying in bed kept the baby healthy.

"Do 'gain," Mikey asked as he pressed his hands down on and watched his mother's stomach intently for any movement. Meanwhile, Jay was rubbing his eyes as he gave up on trying to sleep in favor of finding out what his brother found so interesting. When he did so, he moved over and climbed into his father's lap and eyed his brother's antics a bit nervously.

"I can't make her move. She kind of has a mind of her own."

Beside his wife, Jebb was fighting back chuckles of his own; especially when his oldest leaned forward and spoke as he pushed on Kira's stomach.

"Babee, move 'gain." Mikey waited a second before adding a word that usually got him what he wanted when he'd ask for a treat of some kind from his parents. "Peas."

As if on command, the baby moved once more inside Kira's stomach, causing a slight twitch. When she did, Mikey rolled over onto his back and kicked up in the air as a fit of laughter took over. Once he stopped laughing he got back up on his knees and leaned over his mother with his hands on her belly and felt the baby continue to move for several moments. When the baby stopped moving, Kira told Mikey that she had gone to sleep and used it to encourage Mikey to take his own nap.

Once both boys were asleep, Jebb climbed out of bed and headed down to clean the mess that he knew that he'd left when he made lunch. He had taken his mother's presence here at the house for granted for the last few days and he knew it. She had kept the house neat and tidy but now that she had returned to Placid, it was up to him to try to keep the household as well as the farm running while his wife was required to limit her movements. Jebb figured that as long as he kept the house from looking like a pig sty, he'd be doing good. It may not look like either his wife or mother would have the house look, not to mention his Uncle Jesse, but it would have to do.

Once the kitchen looked less like a disaster area and more like a place to cook meals, Jebb headed out to the barn to tend to the animals to take care of the afternoon chores. By the time he was done, he was glad that not only were Kim and Bo coming over for dinner, but also that Kim had offered to prepare the meal for the family. Jebb was certain anything that his sister-in-law would fix would be more than ten times better than anything he could make. After all, he cooked best over an open fire.


	24. Chapter 24

Ted adjusted his newly acquired uniform and grinned as he walked toward the gate. On the other side, he saw the one Appleby who hadn't turned on him simply because his blasted ex-wife had the nerve to bad mouth him to her family. He had always known that Kim's cousin, Tina, held a torch for him and it was confirmed when she contacted him just after Thanksgiving. Shortly afterwards, she had begun to visit him a few times a month. That was when he first began to put his plan together. All he needed was the opportunity that was presented to him in the form of the naive and green corrections officer who's uniform Ted now wore. Even now, that officer was lying unconscious on his bunk after making the fatal mistake of trusting the slick inmate.

Upon reaching Kimberly's cousin, he gave her a kiss of greeting and smiled down at her. Such a pathetic woman, really, but she had served her purpose. Now time for the next phase of his little outing.

~01~

Daisy set her cards down and smiled as her cousin saw that the brunette had won this round and tossed her own cards down. Giggling, she moved the pretzels that she and Kira had used to place bets with over to join her own pile.

"Either I'm learning you better than I thought or you're losing your touch. I could tell you were bluffing," Daisy said as she leaned forward to turn over Kira's own cards. "And with only a pair of sevens."

Shrugging, Kira answered, "It was worth a shot."

The two women were up in Kira's room and were killing time while the twins were down for their nap. In the last couple of weeks, Daisy's legs and back had begun to bother her more when she worked which had spurred Darcy to convince her to go ahead and cut down on most of her hours at the Boar's Nest. She'd work a few hours at lunch a couple days a week but that was it from now on. Of course Darcy had aimed to convince Daisy to stop working completely for the rest of the pregnancy but Daisy was just too stubborn for that. Anyway, cutting her hours had given her more free time than she was used to so she had taken to keeping her cousin company as much as she could. Both were getting tired of being pregnant and were ready to go ahead and meet their new children. Truth be told, Kira was tired of being pregnant nearly the moment she knew that she was.

"Alright, you want to play another round?" Daisy grabbed up the rest of the cards and began to shuffle them as she spoke.

"Why not? It will still be another half hour before Mikey wakes up. By then, Darcy will be back with that shake from the Dixie Diner that you got him to go get you by batting your eyes at him." Kira teased as she thought back to how willing the man had been to drive all the way to town just because Daisy's sweet tooth was acting up.

"He did say he'd bring you one too, you know."

Kira made a slight face at the thought of having a sugary, sweet ice cream shake. Once again, her morning sickness during this pregnancy decided to not go away after the first few months and would still give her a fit from time to time even though she was starting week thirty of her pregnancy today. Especially if she decided to indulge in a sweet or two.

"I know but I'd rather not. I'd like to keep my lunch down. Anyway, go ahead and deal. I have to even up the score before your husband gets back to finish pampering you." Kira laughed as she gave Daisy a light nudge on her arm. She knew she didn't really have room to tease her cousin since Jebb went out of his way to care for both her and their boys.

"You can try but I'm on a roll today." Daisy then began to deal the cards to start the next round of cards.

~01~

Boss walked into his office and saw the now familiar briefcase sitting on his desk. With each appearance, new demands for money as well as a photograph of him with one of his past associates doing business as well as a reminder that the picture was only a copy, not the original were found inside. Already, Boss had been forced to cash out many of his assets to pay his unseen blackmailer. As of yet, he'd been able to hide his situation from both his wife and brother-in-law but he wasn't sure just how long he could continue the way he was without one of them getting suspicious.

J.D. stepped over to his desk and stared at the case for several nervous moments before allowing his shaking hands to open it to reveal the latest demands.

_No money this time. _

_Instead, __I want your resignation._

_You have until the end of June to make an announcement._

_Make it believable, do it too sudden-like and folks will start to ask questions._

_If you don't do as I say, you know what will happen._

_Sign,_

_The Man Who Owns You!_

"My job?"

Not for the first time Boss did his best to figure out just who could have gotten so much dirt on him and would want him ruined like this. Without his money that he's already practically been stripped of after paying the exorbitant amount of money that his blackmailer has already extorted from him, the only thing he really had left was his job. How could he give it up? His job helped him build his fortune over the years. Now he relied on it to restore what had been taken from him since the beginning of the year. Without his position in the community, what would he have left?

~01~

Darcy knocked on Kim's office door as he stood in the doorway waiting for Daisy's cousin's wife to look up.

"Darcy, how's Daisy?" Kim asked as she glanced past him to ensure that the man was alone before adding, "Does she suspect anything yet?"

"Nope. She doesn't have a clue."

Darcy grinned as he thought about his wife. He knew that a small part of Daisy had to be a little envious of the fact that her cousin's pregnancy had taken up so much of the family's attention even if she wouldn't admit it. Daisy had been fortunate enough to have had a pregnancy free of complications and she had just entered her eighth month. Darcy had figured that one thing he could do to help make Daisy's pregnancy feel as special as it really is was to plan a surprise baby shower. He had enlisted Kim to help him who had been all too happy to help since he really didn't have a clue where to start.

"I told her that I have to go on a cross country flight tomorrow night so she won't be expecting this at all. I suggested that she should stay out with Jesse on nights I'm not home between now and when the baby is born, just in case, so she'll be there just like we planned."

"Good. I've heard back from all of Daisy's friends and we should have a packed house. We may need to ask Lulu if we can borrow some chairs from the Women's Club. Now Jo said she'll be able to have the mural done on the nursery wall by the afternoon as long as I keep Daisy out of the house for the day and Lulu volunteered to make the cake while Jesse is helping with the the rest of the food. All of the women coming are all bringing dishes as well, along with their gifts. I've already told Bo and the other men to stand by to help haul off all of that loot back over to ya'lls place tomorrow night."

"So is there anything else I need to do?"

"Not really." Kim shook her head. She had gone over the list of everything more than a dozen times today. As far as she could tell they were ready for the baby shower.

"Thanks. I really appreciate everything that yo-" Darcy stopped in mid-sentence and Kim watched as his eyes widened in surprise.

"Darcy?" Kim stood from her chair as the man's knees buckled. When he fell to the floor she screamed as she saw a man whom she had thought that she'd never have to lay eyes on again standing behind him.

~01~

Enos pulled his sedan up outside of the courthouse after being gone for just over a week for a fishing trip. He wasn't officially on duty again until the next morning but he wanted to check in since he never knew what he might have missed in a whole week. Usually it was just a couple of bar fights, perhaps a chase or two with the Duke Boys, and even a scheme or two of Boss's which of course the Dukes would have gotten tangled up with as well. If that happened, there would usually be a chase or search involving those same men but at the end of the day, everything always works out just fine.

Enos walked into the courthouse and was pleased to see the cells were empty which meant that he hadn't missed too much while on his vacation. While walking past the teletype machine Enos saw that a message had come in since the last time either Rosco or Cletus had checked it. Truth be told, it might have been sitting there since he'd left on his fishing trip. Rosco had always left checking the machine to the deputies (or as he would say, the dipsticks). Cletus, however, had never really gotten into the habit of checking the machine. Shaking his head, Enos went ahead and read the message that had been sitting there only the Lord knows how long. When he did so, he could feel his blood run cold.

"Possum on a gum bush!" Enos dropped the message and picked up the phone; he'd seen Kim Duke's car parked outside of the clinic just down the street. He needed to let her know what had happened as soon as possible. "Gussie, get me the clinic, please. And hurry."

Enos waited impatiently as the phone rang with no answer. Hanging up, Enos grabbed his hat up and ran out of the door and headed down the street to the medical clinic. As he went up the walkway leading to the door, he saw that Sue had just returned from her lunch and was removing the out to lunch sign from the door.

"Enos. I didn't know you were back from your trip. Did you catch any fish?"

"I just got back, Sue, and yes, I caught a few. I'm actually here to see Miss Kim. Is she in?"

"She should be. Her car is out front. Come on in."

Sue opened the door and she was surprised when Enos pushed past her and began to call out to the female doctor as he headed toward her office. Curious why the deputy was acting so strangely, she followed him down the hall where the offices were at. When she was nearly to the end of the hall, Enos called out for her to stop where she was at. It was then that Sue caught the sight of Darcy on the floor just inside of Kim's office. Enos was kneeling down and it was clear that he was checking for a pulse.

"Oh my God!" Sue screamed as she raised her hand to her mouth.

~01~

Jo strolled down the street with her package of paints that she'd ordered for Daisy's nursery in the back of Faith's stroller as she enjoyed the nice weather of the last weekend of May. At six and a half months old, Faith was giggling and laughing as she watched the world go by without a care in the world. Jo knew that the laughter will soon turn to screaming, however, if she doesn't head on home soon to insure that Faith was able to get her nap in before it gets much later in the afternoon.

If there was one thing about her daughter, it was that she had become fairly predictable with her sleep. Within an hour of eating lunch, she would be in dire need for a nap or everyone in earshot would know it. Jo had eaten lunch with Lulu as they discussed Daisy's baby shower planned for the next day and Faith had been happy to eat her pureed bananas and had even allowed the older woman to feed her some of them; something that had thrilled Lulu since her biggest regret has always been that she and Jefferson never had children of their own. She loved children and those in the Duke family just seemed to be the most precious. She offered to care for them at any time she could.

Jo knew that she should probably go ahead and start for home but she figured that she might as well as share with Kim what she and Lulu had discussed about how to surprise Daisy the next day before she left town. If nothing else, Jo could always just take Faith upstairs and put her down for a nap in one of the patient rooms that was set up for those who might need to stay at the clinic for a couple of days. Then she could spend time with Kim in between patients.

As Jo approached the clinic she saw that both Hazzard police cars were pulled up out front as well as a couple of cars from the state police. Off to the side, Jo saw that Sue was being questioned by one of the out-of-town officers. She looked completely haggard and strung out. Her eye make-up was smeared from crying and even from where she was standing, Jo could tell that her eyes were blood shot. Worried, she sped up as she approached the clinic only to be stopped by an officer that she didn't recognize. It was then that Jo saw another man beginning to unravel yellow crime scene tape around the building.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. No one is allowed in there."

"I have family in there. Kim, she's the doctor here. Why can't I go in there? What's going on?"

"I'm not at liberty to say. Please, stand back."

"But-"

"Back."

Jo swallowed hard but nodded as she headed back to the sidewalk where there was now a crowd gathering. From the street, she kept an eye out as men filtered in and out of the clinic. Most of whom Jo had never seen in Hazzard. There was one, however, that she did know. As soon as she saw him she waved at him to get his attention. As soon as Enos walked over to where Jo was standing she began to unload every question she had about what was going on at the clinic on the man; the first and foremost was the question of where was Kim.

"I'm... I'm not absolutely certain. At least not yet."

Jo eyed the man and could tell that he wasn't being fully truthful. "You may not be certain but you have a pretty good idea, don't you? Why is the clinic marked off with police tape?"

Enos let out a heavy sigh. "Yes. I have a pretty good idea. You may want to call the family and have all of them that can come to the courthouse. I'll explain everything that I can there. Now please, I have to get back inside."

Jo watched the man turn away from her in shock. A part of her felt numb as she watched the uniformed men scurry about with some of them barking orders to the others. Something terrible had happened here and Jo wasn't sure if she wanted to hear what it was or not. Fighting a tremble that wanted to course through her veins, Jo pushed Faith's stroller back toward the Mustang and called out over the CB for the family to come to town as fast as they could. There was something wrong at the clinic. After convincing the others that that was all she knew, Jo headed over to the courthouse to wait for Enos. All the while keeping an eye on the goings on over at the clinic.


	25. Chapter 25

As Luke drove the General Lee into town, Bo's eyes fell on the over abundance of police cars over at the clinic where his wife should be at. He also saw the yellow crime scene tape blocking the entrance to the building.

"Luke."

"I see it." Luke didn't like what he saw either. Reluctantly, he turned the car toward the courthouse. It was probably one of the hardest things that he'd ever done since every fiber in his being wanted to run in and find out what had happened to cause such a display of police force or to create the crowd that was watching on from the sidewalk.

"Where are you goin'? We've got to get to the clinic."

"Jo said that Enos told her to have all of us meet him over at the courthouse. The faster we get there the faster we'll find out what's going on."

Up ahead, he saw his uncle and Daisy climbing out of her Jeep as Jebb pulled up in the Stonewall Jackson in front of the courthouse. Doc Appleby's old car was already parked out front as well. Once the General was stopped, both of the Dukes climbed out and Luke was able to steer Bo reluctantly into the courthouse where the rest of the family minus Kim, Darcy, and Kira were waiting for them. No one inside knew just what was going on but all of them felt a tension that couldn't be ignored. Once Enos walked into the main office area of the courthouse where the Dukes were all waiting, the family descended on him like locust on grain.

"Hold on. I know that all of you are worried and wondering what is going on. First, I hate to be the one to tell you this but last night, Ted Wright escaped from prison. He attacked one of the guards and left his body in his bunk. The rest of the corrections officers didn't even notice until this morning."

"Kim." He'd seen all of the cops over at the clinic. The yellow crime scene tape. The crowd that had gathered outside. Bo worked his jaw before he forced himself to ask the deputy, "Is she...? Did he kill her?"

Irving brought a hand to his chest as he thought about the woman whom he'd raised from a little girl. If she was dead at the hands of Ted he didn't know how he'd be able to live with himself. Up until a year ago he'd always liked him and had done his best to encourage her to return to her ex-husband before he learned just what kind of monster he really was. He might not have known a couple of years ago just what the man who had once been family was capable of but he does now. He'd seen firsthand what Ted could do when angry enough. First when he'd found Kimberly in Hazzard and had given her a beating like nothing that Irving could have ever imagined and then when he'd returned after jumping bail with the intent to kill Kimberly. He'd almost succeeded too. He'd stabbed Kimberly and left her for dead; it had only been by God's grace that she hadn't died that day. Now the man was back and Irving shuddered to think what he was doing to his niece.

"No. At least, we don't think so," Enos said without adding, _Not yet, at least._

"He came back for Kim, didn't he? He took her." Bo could feel his blood run ice cold as he thought about his wife in the cruel hands of her ex-husband.

Enos nodded with a serious and somber look on his face. "The best we can figure, he showed up at the clinic sometime between twelve-thirty and one. That was when Sue was out on her lunch break. With Ted being an escaped convict and all, the State will be taking over the investigation and the search from here which means I'm goin' to have to ask ya'll to let them handle it and-"

"I'm not just goin' to sit around here and not do anything while that bastard has Kim!" Bo was already on his feet ready to head out to the General to start his searching for his wife as he spoke. It didn't matter that he had no idea where to start.

Around the room, the other men looked equally concerned for their missing female kin. Each of them remembered all too well what happened the last time that Ted had come to town. That time he'd left her for dead and she'd nearly been exactly that when the family found her after he left her broken and bleeding on the living room floor of the old farmhouse.

"I know that you want to find her, Bo. But at this point we have no idea if he is even still in the area. He could be halfway to the state-line by now. Not to mention, we have no leads to indicate what kind of car he might be driving, where he might be heading, or if he has plans for Kim."

"Which means that the police won't be doing anything that I can't do myself!" Bo started toward the door with Luke close behind since he wasn't going to let his cousin go off looking for the unstable man alone as Enos called toward the men once again.

"There is one more thing that I need to tell you."

This time, he reluctantly looked toward Daisy. He really didn't want to be the one to tell her what he was about to. The thought of taking away her happiness like this broke his heart. Still, he figured it was better to hear it from a friend than from one of the other officers who wouldn't be nearly as gentle as he knew she deserved. Enos pulled a chair over and sat it across from Daisy as she sat in one of the chairs in the gallery. He felt his stomach knot up and he began to look from her to the other members of the family before he finally spoke up.

"When Ted came for Miss Kim, she... Well, she wasn't alone."

"Okay. So what does that mean? Who was with her?" Daisy eyed Enos suspiciously since he was behaving very oddly.

Enos closed his eyes as he tried to call enough courage to answer her question. Opening them back up, he reached forward and took one of Daisy's hands in each of his and took a deep breath. "It seems that Darcy had stopped off at the clinic for some reason and was there."

"Darcy? Why would he be there? Wait a minute, was he hurt? Is that it? Then what are we waiting around for? I've got to get to the hospital and-" Daisy stood and moved to head toward the door only to realize that Enos had yet to release her hands when he lightly pulled her back to her chair. "Enos, let go. I have to-"

"I'm sorry, Daisy." Enos saw the look of understanding creep into her eyes and the pieces of his heart that weren't already breaking for her began to crumble. He saw as she began to look around to the other family members as if bewildered; without knowing how she could accept what her old friend was telling her. She started to shake her head and mumbled that Enos had to be wrong as Jesse stepped forward and took his niece into his arms and held her.

The room became so quiet that the only sound that could be heard were the sobs of the new widow as the rest of the family took in what their friend and town deputy had told them. Upon hearing that the man had already killed at least two people after being free for only a little over twelve hours, the one thing that was at the forefront of Bo's mind was that if he didn't find his wife fast, he'd never get to hold her again. She was alone with the man that he'd promised Kim that she would never have to see again. He didn't even want to think about the torture that she was going through right now.

~01~

Kim raised a hand to her head as she felt an intense pounding from where Ted had hit her to knock her out back in the clinic. Now she found herself locked away in a small boxy space and felt it sway; that told her that she was locked in a trunk. What she didn't know was how long she had been knocked out. She lain in the car for what seemed like an eternity before the car slowed down and turned down what had to be a gravel drive. Only a short time later the car came to a complete stop.

Moments later, Ted opened the trunk still holding the bloody knife that he'd used to stab Darcy with. She hadn't been able to check on him and she had no idea if he had even survived the stabbing. If he hadn't died instantly, she prayed that someone had found him in enough time to save him. Darcy was a good guy. He didn't deserve to die just because he happened to be with her when Ted showed up. He had a baby who wouldn't be born for another few months but he was so excited. If he was dead, Kim didn't think that she'd ever be able to forgive herself. Of course, by the way Ted looked, she may never have that chance anyway.

"Get out." It was a simple command and Kim knew better than to hesitate in obeying it. He may plan to kill her but he could make her last moments much worse if she procrastinated while following his orders. If she wanted to get out of this, she had to be smart. She couldn't push his buttons needlessly.

Once out of the car, Kim looked around to see that she was at an old abandoned boarded up cabin that could be anywhere in Georgia. She had no idea if she was in Hazzard or not. If she wasn't, the chances of the rest of the family finding her would be greatly diminished. And they were looking for her. She had no doubt of that. That gave her a small amount of comfort but she wasn't sure if it would be enough.

Ted pushed his ex-wife toward the cabin and shoved her inside. Once they were both inside he placed a combination padlock on the door. Grinning, he explained that if anything happened to him while they were locked inside the cabin, there would be no way to leave since even the windows were boarded up tight.

"Now, you and I have a few things to settle between us." Ted sat down at the dusty table before he put a bottle of Scotch on the table and slid it toward Kim. "But first, I want the old Kimmy."

Kim knew what he was talking about. Her low tolerance for alcohol was really the only reason why the two of them got together in the first place since she'd hoped that she wouldn't have fallen for him had she stayed sober while they were dating. She also knew that despite the fact that she absolutely hated the man she was now locked in the cabin with, if she started drinking, she'd likely forget that horrible fact.

"I'm not thirsty."

"Did I ask you if you were thirsty?" Ted stood up and stalked over to Kim and brought his hand harshly across her face, instantly leaving a bruise and a bloody lip behind. He then turned and picked up the Scotch and held it in front of his ex-wife. "You're not going anywhere so you might as well as enjoy your final hours."

Kim's eyes widened as she looked toward the bottle once more.

~01~

Daisy had gone home with Jesse with Jo and Faith in tow as the men all went out to look for the man who had murdered her husband quite reluctantly. She wanted to see with her own eyes that Darcy really was dead but no one else thought that it was a good idea just yet. Jesse didn't know how seeing the man before even the town undertaker has had the chance to make sure that he was presentable could be beneficial to his niece right now. He did all that he could to try to ease her misery. Still, he knew that nothing that he did would be enough. Nothing could take away the pain that he knew she was feeling right now. He only hoped that at the end of the day there wouldn't be another death to mourn.

Jesse heated some water and made Daisy a cup of tea to help calm her nerves and was getting a cup out of the cupboard when his niece that he wasn't expecting walked in through the door with her two boys close behind her.

"Kira, what in Sam Hill? You aren't supposed to be out of bed."

"I know, Uncle Jesse, but I had to come. Boys, you two go on upstairs and play. I'll check on you in a while." Kira waited for the twins to run up the stairs to head to the play room set up for the Duke Children before she asked, "How is she holdin' up?"

"She's not. She hasn't stopped crying since Enos... Well, since she was told about Darcy."

Kira nodded in understanding. She then waddled into the living room and sat down beside of her cousin just opposite of Jo. Kira didn't think that there was anything that she could possibly say that could make what her cousin was going through any easier. All she could do was just be there for her. Be there and pray for her sister-in-law as well until she learned of the fate of the missing Duke.

The fact that Kim was not killed in the clinic along with Darcy actually worried her more than if the man had left her for dead the same way he had more than a year ago. Now, her brother along with her husband and older cousin were all out trying to do the one thing that the police have yet to do; find Kim before it was too late.

"Why would he have been at the clinic?" Daisy could be heard muttering to herself softly. "He was only in town because I asked for a stupid milkshake. Why would he have stopped off at the clinic?"

Jo glanced at Kira since they both suspected that the man had stopped to ask if everything had been ready for the surprise baby shower planned for the next day. If that was the case, neither thought that Daisy needed to know that at the moment. As it was, she'd likely blame herself for Darcy's death. She didn't need another reason to add to it.

Both women sat with Daisy and did the best that they could to just be there for her. Right now, that was all they could do. Especially while waiting to see if Kim was alright. For her brother's sake, Kira hope that they found her soon.

~01~

Luke gripped the wheel as he drove toward the outer edge of the county. Already, with the help of their friend Cooter, they had assembled a fairly large search party. The problem was, since they didn't know what they were looking for, they could drive right by Ted and Kim and they may not even realize it.

"Lost Sheep to Crazy Cooter, you still standin' by?"

_"Shakin' trees and rakin' leaves; comin' in wall to wall and treetop tall, Crazy Cooter here."_

"Cooter, we're goin' to start checking the old side roads leading into Hatchapee. You and Dobro take the back roads leading toward Chickasaw since the police are monitoring the main roads. Though I don't see why they'd think that anyone on the run would use a major road to go anywhere."

_"No one ever said that them cops were given a full helpin' of brains. Don't worry, we've got the back roads all sealed up tighter than Boss's wallet. Won't nobody get in or out of this county without one of us knowin' about it."_

"Thanks, Coot."

"I don't see what good that's goin' to do. They've probably already left the county by now." Bo stared out through the window as the General sped down the back country road. He wanted to believe that they'd find his wife alive while at the same time he was well aware that if she was alive then it only meant that Ted wanted to make her live through hell before he finally killed her when he felt like it.

"Maybe not. After swiping Kim he likely would have wanted to lay low for a while. He'd have to know that folks would be out looking for her as soon as someone realized she was missing. Sue found..." Luke paused since he didn't want to draw attention to the fact that the only reason that the family knew about Kim being missing was the fact that Darcy's body was found. Instead he simply stated, "Sue realized that Kim was missing no more than fifteen to twenty minutes after he took her. He wouldn't have had enough time to get out of town, much less the county in that amount of time. Ted would have wanted to get off of the roads before the State and the Feds came in."

"Alright, so say that they are still in the county; where would they be?"

"My first bet would be one of the hunting cabins. They're all empty this time of year. Most are secluded. Jebb's goin' to keep watch on from Eagle point for any cars that he doesn't recognize while we start checkin' in on the cabins."

Bo nodded since that plan seemed as good if not better than one that he could come up with at the moment. He just hoped that they found Kim fast. And when they did, he wanted just five minutes alone with Ted. Five minutes and he'd regret that he dared to return to Hazzard for Kim.


	26. Chapter 26

Feeling as if she was going to drown from the liquid being poured down her throat, she began to choke and spit up as she tried to push the bottle away only to have Ted to shove it back into her mouth to ensure that she guzzled as much of it as possible.

"Time to wake back up, Kimmy. You'll have plenty of time to rest later."

Ted jerked his ex-wife up and drug her to where he had a chair ready for her. The excessive alcohol in her system prevented her from being able to sit up straight. Instead, she began to slip to the floor nearly immediately. Ted yanked her up and draped her upper half across the small table that was in the cabin.

Looking down on his handiwork, he could see the splattering of bruises and lesions that now marked Kim's body. By far, his favorite was the mark around her neck where he had enjoyed choking her several times with his belt. The ability to take a life was too easy. But to let this worthless woman know that he could withhold not only her air supply but her only means of escape by way of death at his leisure as well; that was real power.

"Surely you're not tired of playing, already. And here I thought that you were holding out hope that your new boy toy was out looking for you." Ted sneered as he thought about the country rube who had married his wife after he'd been sent to rot in prison. "Maybe you'd be a bit more lively if I invited him to play along, too. I have a score to settle with him after all."

"No." Kim tried to sit up to look at her wretched ex-husband but she felt as if she was swimming in Scotch. She didn't know how long she'd been in the cabin but the only thing she'd been given was the liquor. No matter how much she begged for water or something to eat when she saw Ted pull out a sandwich from the locked ice box. Just like the front door, the refrigerator was padlocked so that Ted was the only one who could open it.

"You don't get to make that decision." Ted chuckled since he already had a plan to send the roughneck into a downward spiral. "In fact, you don't get to decide anything else from now on."

~01~

Jebb pulled back up to Eagle Point after grabbing a quick breakfast to go so that he could be back at his post just before sunrise. The family hadn't packed up for the day until long after dark the night before. None of them had wanted to go home without finding Kim first but they weren't going to find her if they were all exhausted. Luke had stayed with Bo while Jo and Jesse had sat up with Daisy while trying to help her start the mourning process. Something that Jebb knew wouldn't really start until they could put Darcy to rest. Still, the family couldn't do that as long as they knew that Kim was being held by her maniac of an ex-husband.

Jebb reached for his thermos of coffee as he scanned the valley below him. He was just about to take a swig of the black liquid when he spotted a car parked on the side of the road that he didn't recognize. Pulling out a pair of binoculars, he searched the car and saw that it was empty. He then tried to see if anyone was around. He couldn't find anyone.

"Racin' Fiend to Lost Sheep; come in, Lost Sheep."

"_Lost Sheep here. What's up, Racin' Fiend?"_

"There's an old beat up sedan out at the road near the Mason's back forty. I don't think I've ever seen it before. There ain't anyone in or around it. It might be nothin' but you should probably take a look."

"_Right. On our way."_

About fifteen minutes later Jebb watched on with his binoculars as the General pulled up just behind the strange vehicle. He could see Luke and Bo getting out of the race car and search around it before the eldest Duke Cousin knelt down behind the rear of the car and dabbed his fingers in some sort of liquid dripping out from the vehicle. After a moment Jebb watched as Bo raced over to the General to get a crowbar out of the trunk. Before Luke could stop him, he'd opened the trunk and though Jebb couldn't see inside from his vantage point it was clear that someone was inside.

"Oh, Bo." Jebb felt for his cousin as he could be seen walking away from the car before he sat on the General's hood. Luke then reached inside the car and called for the State Police.

"_This here's Luke Duke callin' to Trooper Hamans. I think you and your men should get out here to the Mason's farm. The sheriff or one of the deputies can help you find your way."_

"_This here is Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. Luke, did you find... her?" _

Jebb along with the whole county knew who he was referring to by saying _her_.

"_That's a negative. But Ted did leave us a message."_

Jebb raised the binoculars back up now that the other men were not blocking his view of the trunk and saw that it appeared to have a body of a woman inside. If she wasn't Kim then who was she?"

~01~

Pauline got out of the car just after John pulled to a stop at the farmhouse and went straight to the living room where her mourning niece was sitting surrounded by the rest of the family and several of her friends. The moment that she saw her niece Pauline's heart broke all over again. She couldn't help but fight back the tears as she went forward to wrap Daisy in a comforting hug. After all of these years of waiting for her niece and nephews to find their happiness she couldn't believe that Daisy was now faced with having to bury her husband after only six months of marriage.

"Oh, Daisy."

Pauline sat with her niece for more than an hour before she decided to help Jesse in the kitchen as Luke's wife took her place beside of Daisy. When she headed into the kitchen she was surprised to find her son's wife slaving away over the stove instead of her brother-in-law.

"What are you doing in here? I thought that you were supposed to be on bed rest."

"There's too much going on for me to be stuck in bed. If you're lookin' for Jesse, he's out overseeing the men digging Darcy's grave up in the family cemetery."

Kira opened the oven to get a casserole out that she'd made to help feed the army of people who had come to offer their condolences to Daisy and their well-wishes and prayers in regards to Kim. It felt as if half of the county had shown up at the Duke Farm and like it or not, those people needed to be fed.

Pauline rushed forward and swiped the pot holders away from her daughter-in-law and told her to sit down as she got the dish out of the hot oven. By the looks of her, the last thing she needed was for her to throw her center of balance off by trying to bend down to get the hot casserole out of the oven.

"You shouldn't be pushing yourself so hard. It isn't good for the baby," Pauline said as she sat the casserole on top of the stove before adding, "Or for you."

"You better be careful. People might get the idea that you actually like me if they don't see us fightin'." Kira pulled a chair out from the breakfast table and sat down while Pauline started looking for the dishes to set out for the house-load of people who likely were ready to eat the moment they learned that the food was done.

"In that case, I'll make sure I make some snide remarks later on. In the meantime, how about I make sure that you get back where you belong. Besides, I'm not sure all of the kids need to be around here, no how. I'll have Emma and Emily take care of the boys and Faith over at your house. It would be better to have them out from underfoot anyway."

Kira didn't like the idea of being isolated in her bedroom but at the same time she was reluctant to admit that she was exhausted after only being up to help with the guests and mourners for the morning. Not to mention, after standing over the oven to make the casserole, her back was just a bit achy.

"I'd hate to leave Daisy..."

"She has enough people here looking after her. Now let's look after you, too." Pauline went to the door to call for her daughters and told them to gather up the younger Dukes. She informed them that they would be babysitting over at the other farmhouse.

~01~

Luke got in behind the wheel of the General after the police took possession of the strange car as well as the body that had been left inside. After the initial shock and relief that the body inside wasn't Kim was over, the two cousins were able to identify the woman as being Kim's cousin, Tina. The one who had blamed Kim for putting Ted behind bars back at the wedding in November. Rosco promised to tell Doc Appleby of his kin's demise as kindly as possible while the rest of the men of the county continued to search for Kim.

When Luke looked over to the passenger side, he saw that Bo was staring out of the window while gritting his teeth. The lines of worry creased around his eyes and it was clear that he was beginning to believe that the next body that they'd find would be Kim's. What was worse, Luke didn't know how he could try to give his cousin the hope that he so desperately needed to hold onto. With no words of encouragement to be found, Luke put the car in gear and sent it down yet one more back road that would lead to some hunting cabins. All he and his cousin could do was to keep looking for Kim and Ted. Right now the only clue that he had was some faint footsteps that led west away from the car. The tracks disappeared quickly but at least they had a general direction to try looking in.

~01~

Daisy hugged a pillow to her as she stared out of the window. Up on the hill that overlooked the family farm she could see her Uncle Jesse as he oversaw the work that was being done in the family cemetery. She could remember the last time a family member had been lain to rest and couldn't believe that Darcy was about to join those members up on the hill. It just seemed so unreal. Daisy watched as the men all collected their shovels and headed back down to the main farm as she listened to the other women whisper around the room. At first she didn't pay attention to them since she couldn't really care less about anything other than the fact that her husband was dead and the man who had killed him was out loose somewhere in the state. But eventually, some of their conversation began to filter past the haze.

"Who would have thought when we planned this party that it would have turned out to be a wake?"

Daisy turned to face two of her friends trying to be discreet on the other side of the room. "What did you mean? What party?"

Patty looked to Christy who glanced around as if trying to find someone else to explain to the grieving widow what they had been talking about. Unfortunately, Jo had gone to check on her daughter which meant that they were on their own.

"Well, we were," Christy swallowed before giving her old friend a sympathetic look while continuing. "It was supposed to be a surprise but we were going to throw you a baby shower today... Darcy was arranging it."

"A baby shower?" Daisy put her hand on her stomach and rubbed it as she felt the baby kick to remind her that he was there. The last part of her husband that she still could hold onto. "Darcy was going to give me a baby shower?"

Patty nodded as she went over to sit next to Daisy. "He wanted it to be real special for you."

Daisy wiped a tear from her eyes as she thought about her husband trying to arrange a baby shower. He was terrible at planning parties yet he'd planned one for her without her even suspecting. Of course he couldn't have done it alone. Her cousins' wives had to have been in on it. Which must have been why he'd been at the clinic with Kim the day before.

"I'm sure it would have been."

Daisy turned back to the window as she tried to focus on the fact that her husband's last moments had been spent trying to do something to make her feel special. Both her and their son.

~01~

Hours after nightfall, Ted slipped behind the wheel of his recently acquired vehicle and drove to a place that was all too familiar to him by now. He used the darkness around him to help him avoid the idiots with badges and made his way to the hill overlooking the farm that he knew his wife now called her home. It looked different since the last time he was here but that wasn't what caught his attention. Grinning, he chuckled at the fact that the family had already done his work for him. Well, most of it. A freshly dug grave was waiting for him like a gift from heaven.

"He wants her, this is the only way he'll get to keep her."

Ted snuck back to the truck and made a stop off on his way back to the cabin that he'd left Kimmy passed out in. He was tiring of her and he figured that the cops had likely begun to believe that he was out of the area by now which meant that it should be safe for him to make a clean getaway. First, he just had to dispose of his bothersome wife who thought that she could ignore her vow to be with him until death and only by death would they part.

~01~

Kim vaguely felt herself being picked up and carried through the door. She did her best to focus on where she was being taken through the alcohol haze but everything just looked like one blur of dark forest. Every fiber of her being wanted to make a break for it now that she wasn't locked in the cabin but she couldn't even turn her own head without the effort that would normally take to move a fully loaded dresser.

"Now you be a good girl, Kimmy. If you are, maybe I'll be nice enough to end the game for you when we get where we're going."

Kim then felt herself being dumped into what she assumed to be the trunk of a strange car. It wasn't the same one that she'd been in the last time she'd been in this position, that was for sure. This one felt narrower, more cramped. The owners of the car must haul wood in their car since she could smell pine and she swore she felt a splinter digging into her side. Of course she didn't have the strength to move to keep the small bit of wood from digging into her flesh.

Ted must have stole this one sometime after locking her up in the cabin. He had plenty of time; he would have just slipped out after she'd passed out for one reason or another. She'd never notice the lapse in time. In her fazed and fuzzy state of mind, she thought she heard some banging that must have been Ted sealing the cabin back up since she couldn't think of anything else that could be the reason behind the banging. Even if it did sound too close.

She felt the car sway from side to side which made the liquor to rebel in her otherwise empty stomach. By the time the vehicle stopped, Kim had lost the battle with her stomach and had passed out shortly afterwards. She never even felt the container that she was in being shifted about as Ted moved it to it's final resting place.


	27. Chapter 27

As Kim came to, she blinked as she tried to figure out where she was. The last thing she remembered was Ted telling her that they were almost finished with what he had referred to as their game. She went to sit up in a panic in an effort to look for him in the darkness but she was stopped short quickly; mere inches above her head she came into contact with a solid piece of wood.

Above her, Kim then began to hear the unmistakable sound of dirt being shoveled onto the top of the cheap pine box that she was trapped in. It was then that she realized that she was not just in a dark room but a coffin. Panicking, Kim started to scream and began to bang on the lid of the coffin. It wouldn't budge which told her that Ted must have nailed the lid down. Knowing that her only chance of survival was to not allow her psychopathic ex-husband to bury her alive, Kim punched, kicked and banged on the lid of her wooden prison in hopes of escaping the fate of being entombed with no prayer of rescue.

Meanwhile, the sound of clods of dirt being tossed on top of the thin lid of the coffin began to become muffled as Kim fought her imprisonment with everything that she had. Her hands, feet and knees all began to bleed as she did all she could to try to break free from the casket. When Kim could no longer hear the faint sounds overhead she desperately tried to control the panic that had gripped her. She knew that she only had but so much air while lying beneath the surface of the ground. If she wasn't freed soon she will run out of oxygen; oxygen that she would only use up faster if she continues to panic.

Pressing up on the lid, Kim felt tears of frustration begin to streak down her face. Somehow she just knew that her ex-husband had finally done something that he'd threatened to do for years. He'd found a way to kill her and what was worse was that she had no clue of where she was. Not only that, but neither did Bo or the rest of the Dukes.

~01~

Ted wiped his brow as he put the last shovel of dirt into place just as the sun began to creep up over the horizon. He looked down in the farmyard and saw as the country roughnecks got in their cars for their day of searching. Seeing the orange race car barrel out of the yard, Ted grinned knowing that if they stayed with their search pattern from the last couple of days, the cabin that he'd been in up until only a few hours ago should be one of the first places checked today. Inside, Ted left a little surprise for Blondie. He only wished that he could be there to see his face when he found it. He did, however, plan to be close by when the other man finally uncovered the body of the woman who had been a constant source of aggravation for him over the last several years. Once Ted saw that, then he could finally get even with the man for stealing her away from him.

~01~

Luke knew that his cousin needed to drive this morning to work off the stress of yet another sleepless night of worrying about his wife. Sitting in the passenger's seat, he kept watch for any signs of the ones they were looking for. Even while in a car rather than stalking the woods on foot, he was the best tracker in the county. Seeing indications of recent tire tracks leading away from one of the hunting cabins that he and his cousin hadn't searched yet, Luke told Bo to follow the trail up through the woods.

Once at the cabin, Luke knelt to the ground to check the freshness of the tracks while his cousin went to check the door. It was when he heard his cousin curse and throw a chair inside the cabin that he knew that it had indeed been Ted and Kim who had been here. Not only that but had been so recently.

"Bo?"

"They were here and we missed them!"

Luke bound through the door to join his cousin and saw women's clothes on the floor that had to be Kim's based on Bo's reaction to them. Luke scanned the rest of the room and saw a piece of paper on the small table so he went over and picked it up to read what was written on it.

_Looks like you missed us. _

_But then, considering you've been looking nearly everywhere else in the county,_

_I'm sure you'll be surprised to hear that you didn't even need to leave home to find Kimmy. _

_She was still alive when I left her. _

_If you want to keep it that way, you'd better find her fast._

"Bo, we need to get back to the farm."

"The farm?" Bo took the paper from his cousin and read it quickly before cursing and running back outside to the car. Once behind the wheel of the General, Bo sent the car racing back home as he asked his cousin, "Why would he take her back to the farm? Not to mention, between the three farms, that's nearly three hundred acres to search. Where do we even start?"

Luke wished he had some answers but at least they knew that as of when this note was written Kim was still alive. Now they had a clue, vague as it was, to find her. Reaching for the CB, Luke let both the family as well as the police know about the note found in the cabin. He told everyone to start searching the farms from top to bottom until they found the missing woman. He suggested that they start at the main family farm since as far as they knew, Ted didn't know that the three farms were all connected into one large farm.

Every man available then acknowledged the message and confirmed that they were all heading back to the farm to help with the search.

~01~

John listened to the coordination of the search for his nephew's missing wife over the CB and pondered the many places on the farm alone that the woman could be stashed; it could literally take weeks to locate her. After checking in with his brother who was taking care of Daisy in the main farmhouse, he began to walk the property as he continued to think of just where he and the family should start looking for Kim.

He thought about the silver mines first. If that rotten convict had taken her down below into the winding tunnels of the mines, finding her could be more than a little challenging. Then of course there were the various thickets that could hide whole herds of deer in them. Or the silos, the barns, the smokehouse, the wells, or the old ice house.

John ran a hand through his graying blond hair as he looked around the hill and realized that he'd ended up at the family cemetery. A place that he knew the family would be coming to bury one member of their kin in the coming days, he just hoped that it wouldn't be two. Glancing around, he realized that something was wrong. He knew that a grave for Darcy had been dug the day before. Now there was fresh dirt covering a small plot of land but no open grave was in sight.

"Good God," John muttered as he realized where Kim had been hidden. "Please don't let it be too late."

John ran down to the house shouting as he went for everyone to grab a shovel and to follow him.

~01~

Jebb kissed his wife before leaving the house to help search for his cousin's wife. He was leaving out a little late since he was trying to wrangle his sons so that they wouldn't give his sisters a hard time while they cared for them throughout the morning. It did make him feel a little better knowing that Kira wouldn't be alone in the house while stuck in bed and his mother had been right; the children didn't need to be subjected to the constant stress surrounding the murder of their Uncle Darcy and the kidnapping of their Aunt Kim.

Jebb got in his car just as his he heard his father call out over the CB that he believed that he'd found Kim over at the main farm. Caught somewhere between being elated that the search may be over and apprehensive since he still didn't know the outcome, he put his car in gear and got over to the main farm in record time. When he pulled up at the farmhouse, he saw his father and uncle racing up the hill toward the family cemetery with shovels in tow. Jebb got his own shovel that he kept in the trunk of his car and ran to catch up to the eldest Dukes. From what he could tell, Ted must have buried Kim in the grave that had been meant for Darcy.

~01~

Kim started to yawn and knew that her air was running out on her. She had been fighting both the alcohol still in her system as well as the lack of oxygen to stay awake for too long and she wasn't sure if she should have even bothered. At least going to sleep was a much more peaceful way to die than Kim would have expected from her ex-husband. With all that he'd put her through this was probably the kindest thing that he'd ever done for her. After all, she could imagine a lot worse ways for Ted to have killed her off. Especially after the weekend that he'd just had her endure.

Kim could feel herself beginning to drift off as she began to hear muffled sounds from overhead. At first she swore that she had to be hearing things. As the sounds became more prominent Kim allowed herself to become hopeful. Could it be that someone had found her after all? Drawing up the last bit of strength that she could Kim began to shout and scream while kicking and hitting the lid of the casket. If she could let whoever that was digging know that she was still alive then just maybe they could hurry up and get her out of of the coffin before she was overwhelmed with carbon-dioxide. She just had to hold out for a little bit longer.

~01~

"Hey, Jebb, hold up."

"Huh?"

"Listen, do you hear somethin'?"

Jebb strained his ears and was convinced that his father had just been hearing things. It had to be wishful thinking on his part because Jebb didn't hear anything. Shaking his head, Jebb loaded down his shovel once more only to catch the sound of feminine screams muffled from below him and the other Dukes.

"Kim? He really buried her alive?" Jebb looked back at his father in wonderment.

"Everyone that doesn't already have one, grab a shovel!" Jesse called out to the other men who were either just walking up or were trying to catch their breath after they'd already taken their turn at digging as he took up his own shovel again with renewed strength. "She's alive!"

That announcement sent every man in the cemetery into action; from the family members to friends and even the police officers who had shown up to help dig up the missing woman. None worked as vigorously as Bo. There weren't enough shovels to go around so those without them began to dig with whatever they had on hand. Hearing the calls from down below spurred Bo on knowing that Kim was still alive. However as he and the other men got closer to the buried coffin the cries became fainter and further apart.

When a shovel finally hit the top of the casket the calls had ceased altogether. Bo moved the dirt aside with his bare hands and did his best to find the edges of the coffin. When he finally found the side of the casket's lid he pulled up only to find that it wouldn't budge.

"Hang on, Bo," Luke looked up at Cooter and asked, "You got a crowbar on the tow truck?"

"Sure do," Cooter nodded as he ran over to the truck. The family friend then pulled out the iron bar and raced back over to the grave where all of the other men were gathered and handed it off to Luke who then began to pry the nails out of their place in the casket. The whole time Bo was calling out to Kim to answer him now that she'd grown silent.

"Luke, hurry up. I don't like this at all."

"I'm hurryin', I'm hurryin'."

Before Luke had been able to get more than a couple of nails loose Bo had his fingers under the lid and was trying to pull it up manually. When the coffin was finally opened Bo nearly held his breath when he saw that Kim wasn't moving. In fact she didn't even look like she was breathing. He reached forward and brushed a hand across her face where he saw fresh bruises marring her face just as they did all over the rest of her body. Behind him Jebb removed his shirt and passed it forward to help cover his sister-in-law's modesty.

"Kim, Darlin'. Wake up. Everything's goin' to be just fine now but ya got ta wake up." As Bo spoke he checked for Kim's pulse. It was weak and thready but at least it was there. He wrapped Kim up in the shirt that Jebb had given him and carefully lifted his wife out of the casket. It was too much to see her in that blasted thing; even if he now knew that she was still alive.

"I think we'd best get her to the hospital, Bo." Enos reached forward along with Luke to help Bo keep steady as he climbed out of the hole with Kim in his arms. "I'll drive ya."

Bo nodded as he carried his wife over to the cruiser and climbed in. His wife was alive but the fact that she wasn't waking back up worried him. By looking at her Bo knew that Kim had to have some injuries that he couldn't see. That meant that he needed to get her to the hospital as fast as he could. Or in this case, as fast as Enos could since he was the one that was driving.

Jesse gave only the briefest glance at Luke who then jumped inside the cruiser beside the deputy before he took off with sirens blaring toward the hospital. This nightmare wasn't over yet. Not until they knew that Kim would survive her injuries. If she didn't, he didn't want his nephew alone.


	28. Chapter 28

Bo sat in the room next to his unconscious wife as Doctor Petticord went over Kim's injuries with him. The more that he heard the more he wanted to wrap his fingers around the throat of that good for nothing bastard who had done this to her. In addition to the bruised ribs and various physical traumas, Kim was also suffering from alcohol poisoning. Her levels were much too high and the doctor was concerned since Kim had yet to regain consciousness; likely due to the fact that her oxygen levels were so low.

Bo was warned that there was always a risk of suffering long term from such a high level of alcohol combined with the low levels of oxygen but he hoped that it wouldn't be the case. After all, he knew that Kim would be suffering the effects of what she'd lived through over that last several days for a long time as it was. From being kidnapped, beaten and tortured, Kim lived in a nightmare that wasn't completely over yet since Ted was still out there somewhere.

Bo sat with his wife and watched as the fluids in the IV bags slowly dripped down to rehydrate Kim after going days with nothing but alcohol in her system. Meanwhile he listened to the machines sound off with each slow and steady heartbeat. He knew that he'd come close to losing her. If they had been just a few more minutes later she would have been dead when they finally uncovered her from the family cemetery.

Hearing the door open, Bo looked up and saw Kim's Uncle Irving. He knew that the older man had been busy with arranging to have Tina's body shipped back to her hometown in addition to trying to oversee his niece's treatment here in the hospital. When the ragged man took a seat in the other chair in the room, Bo asked how he was holding up since he knew that he wasn't the only one who had been going out of his mind while Kim was missing. Irving admitted that he was hanging on by a thread so Bo suggested that he should go home and get some sleep.

After a few moments of convincing, Irving agreed but told his niece's husband that he'd be back early enough in the morning to let Bo go home to get ready for Darcy's funeral. He would sit with his niece while her husband was busy burying his cousin's husband. Something that Bo had forgotten about until the older man mentioned it. He had become so absorbed in finding his wife, it had become too easy to forget that Kim hadn't been Ted's only victim this week. His cousin was now facing burying her husband and knowing that she would have to raise their child alone. Just one more reason why the escaped convict deserved to die and go straight to hell.

After he was left alone with his wife once more, he said a prayer for her recovery of not only the physical injuries but the ones that couldn't be as easily seen from the outside. He then added another prayer for his cousin.

~01~

Luke sat with his cousin, Daisy, throughout the night as she performed the long held tradition of sitting up with a dead loved one on their final night on Earth. With all that had happened over the last few days, he knew that her pain had taken a back seat as the family had done everything that they could to find Kim before it was too late. Now that the other woman was safe in the hospital, the grieving process for his cousin's husband could take center stage.

Daisy leaned against him and he could feel the dampness of her tears on his shirt as he held held her. He smoothed her hair and rested his cheek on the top of her head and knew that the following day would be among the hardest for his cousin. Luke knew that in the coming days she would need her family more than ever.

~01~

The next morning, Irving sat with his niece to allow Bo a bit of peace of mind while he left the hospital for the funeral at the old family cemetery. It pained him to leave his wife at all, especially while her ex-husband was still on the loose, but he knew he should be there for Daisy as well since she had lost her husband in this horrible ordeal.

Darcy had been a good man who had adored Daisy. Had understood her and would have been a good father for his son whom he'd never get a chance to meet. The man deserved one day for his friends and family to bid him goodbye without the events that led up to his death taking precedence.

Bo went home and got himself cleaned up before looking at himself in the mirror and saw the several day's worth of growth on his face. He looked as haggard as he felt. After shaving, he felt almost human as he dressed in his best suit and joined the rest of the family for the service at the top of the hill overlooking the family farm. He and his other male cousins who had driven in for the funeral served as pallbearers before taking their places to listen to the reverend's service which Bo was pretty sure that few were actually paying attention to. Each mourner was preoccupied with their own thoughts. He knew Daisy was too grief-stricken to care much about the platitudes that were offered and he himself couldn't stop worrying about his wife since he knew all too well that she wasn't out of the woods yet.

At the end of the service each family member left a white flower on the casket as a sign of respect for the man who was to be laid to rest. During the procession, Daisy couldn't take her eyes off of the box where her beloved was hidden from her view. It was only once the others had finished that Daisy could force her own feet to take her to the grave where she placed a small bouquet down that resembled the one that she'd carried just six months to the day that Darcy had been killed. The roses and baby's breath stood out from among the small white carnations left by the other mourners.

Stepping back, Daisy listened as the reverend closed the service out before the family all returned to the house where the family would continue to receive condolences from nearly everyone in the county. At least from everyone who wasn't still out looking for the man who had murdered her husband.

~01~

Hours later, Enos pondered over the thought that for years, even while Ted and Kim were estranged, the madman would frequently visit the county while keeping up appearances with her uncle. As a result, he likely knew nearly as much about the county and the places it offered to hide as any native to Hazzard.

Enos knew that the State Police had determined that the escaped convict had left the area after leaving Kim Duke buried in the family cemetery but he wasn't so sure about that. A man like him, he would have wanted to watch the chaos that he'd created. He'd have stuck around to make sure that he'd delivered a final blow to the woman whom he'd despised. Upon seeing the woman rescued and taken to the hospital, Ted would immediately begin to devise a new plan to enact his vengeance. Enos only had to figure out just how he would now act on his plans.

As a precaution, a guard was standing outside of Kim Duke's room but Enos wasn't sure if that was enough. If he was a madman like Ted, believing that he'd lost his wife to another, what would he do?

~01~

Bo reluctantly returned to his cabin on Duke Land after being ordered by his uncles to get some rest before returning to the hospital. He understood their reasoning but he still didn't like the idea of being away from his wife for so long. It wasn't like he really thought he'd get any real sleep. Not until Ted was no longer a threat to his family. Still, to appease his uncles, he'd lie down, even close his eyes and watch the back of his eyelids, but sleep would not be coming for a long time.

~01~

Ted watched on as the family went their separate ways with disdain. These people had helped his wife hide from him and sent him on a wild goose chase. Each and every one of them deserved to suffer for their part in his misery. None of them were innocent in his eyes.

With a large group of the family remaining at the farmhouse, Ted's attention was captured by an all too familiar car as it headed away from the other mourners. Grinning, he had a score to settle and he was just given the opportunity to do so without interruption. Kimmy may yet survive; her boy toy, that will be a different matter altogether.

Discretely following the flashy race car to a small cabin in the woods, Ted felt satisfaction at knowing that he could finish the roughneck off and no one would even know that he'd been there; at least not until it was too late. It was secluded and the rest of the family was busy elsewhere.

Ted patiently waited for more than an hour before he crept closer to the old cabin. Peeking through the window of the bedroom, he saw Blondie lying down, presumably asleep. He then went around and tested the front door. Just as he suspected, the door was unlocked. These country folks were really too trusting for their own good. He quietly opened the door and slipped inside to find himself in a quaint little living room that was connected to a equally quaint kitchen. On the counter his eyes found the knife block. The knives would do nicely.

Ted grabbed one of the sharp knives and opened the only door that had to lead to the bedroom. Upon entering the room, he saw the blond roughneck who had stolen his wife away from him. There he was, already laid out as if he'd already seen the undertaker. This family had best not put their black clothing away too quickly, they had yet one more funeral to attend.

He stalked toward the bed while fighting the blood-thirsty anger he'd felt for the man for over a year. Looking at him now, he couldn't help but think back to that first night when he'd seen Blondie dropping Kimmy off at the boarding house where he'd been waiting for his wife the year before. He'd seen the other man kiss Kimmy on the forehead and knew that he wanted her.

Sneering, Ted raised his hand and readied himself before swiftly bringing his weapon down.

~01~

Kira gave her cousin a sad hug before she returned to her and Jebb's family car so that she could return to what had become her customary place while awaiting the birth of her daughter. She understood the risks of being up and about too much during her pregnancy but she couldn't help but feel that her place was with her family rather being stuck in bed for hours on end.

Once up in her bedroom, Kira settled in for an afternoon of trying to read to take her mind off of the events of the week. She had only read a page or two before Emma and Emily joined her upstairs carrying a game board.

"Do you mind if we come in? Momma won't let us go outside and we're bored."

Kira knew exactly why Pauline was so timid about letting her youngests out while a murdering madman was still on the loose. She felt for her sister-in-laws but as a mother, Kira had to side with her mother-in-law on this matter.

"Sure. Come on in."

Somehow, keeping the younger female Dukes entertained at least made her feel useful. She set the board up on the bed and the three were on their third lap around the board when Kira's head shot up in alarm.

_'Bo?'_

He didn't respond but she knew something was wrong.

"Emma, could you and Emily go find Jebb for me real quick?" Both girls looked at Kira strangely so she added, "Please."

Thinking that there might be something wrong with the baby since they had both heard the adults talking about Kira's pregnancy, they both jumped out of the room to look for their brother.

~01~

Bo's eyes popped open just as Ted was about to bring down the knife and plunge it deep into himself. He raised his hands and used both of them to keep the other man from being able to stab him. He knew that he was at a disadvantage since he was lying on the bed and Ted as able to use his leverage of having stable footing against him as he stood over him.

Bo sensed his sister's alarm but couldn't respond to her to let her know what was going on. Instead, he was in deep concentration in trying to overcome his attacker while trying to figure out a way to turn the tables against the other man. If both of them were on their feet, there was no question who would win this confrontation but in the positions that they were in now, Ted definitely had the upper hand.

The struggle seemed to go on forever and Bo's attention was drawn to the knife as he could now feel the tip begin to dig against his flesh. He refused to allow this bastard to win. He drew on all of his strength and tried to push him away one more time as a loud noise rang out. The look in Ted's eyes told Bo that he'd been shot.

Using the moment of distraction, Bo was able to roll off of the bed and away from the man to stand on the opposite side of the room of where his friend and town deputy stood with his weapon drawn while standing in the doorway.

Now that he was out of immediate danger of being stabbed by the man who had attacked his wife, Bo saw that Enos had shot the convict in the right shoulder. It wasn't a wound to kill, only to stop him.

"Alright, Mister, put the weapon down," Enos demanded. He'd been right about the man. He'd come after Bo now that he could no longer attack Kim. If he'd come just a little bit later, the man might have killed his old friend.

"I remember you. Still butting in where it doesn't concern you," Ted said as he saw the man who had first interrupted him and Kimmy in the boarding house a year ago. "You really shouldn't involve yourself in other people's discussions."

Ted held tighter to the weapon in his hand as he gave the deputy a look of pure hatred. Enos cocked his own weapon in warning to the man who only ignored it.

"You think I'm afraid of your gun? If you were going to kill me, you would have done it already. Let me guess, you're one of those men who think that there is _good_ in everyone. Well, Deputy, good guys finish _dead_." Ted then raised his knife as he turned to rush the man he'd come to kill in the first place.

Bo raised his hands in a defensive motion as one more shot rang out, causing the convict to stumble just as he reached the man who was the subject of his disdain. Bo wrestled the knife away from the man as he watched the light leave Ted's eyes. Bo lowered him to the floor before looking over to the man who had saved his life. Looking at him, there were few times that he'd seen Enos without his mask of humor and jocularity on his face. Now was one of those times. He looked more serious than Bo could remember ever seeing him.

Enos lowered his weapon with a heavy heart. He'd never wanted to kill anyone; even someone as evil as this man. Ted hadn't left him a choice though. Enos had always heard about the phenomenon of suicide by cop but he'd never thought that he'd be so involved in one. Ted had made up his mind that he wouldn't be going back to prison. He'd been a madman whose only goal was to cause devastation in his path. And he had done so even with his last breath.

"Enos, you okay?"

Holstering his gun, he nodded. "You?"

"Thanks to you."

Outside, a car could be heard pulling up and after a slamming of the door Jebb came running inside but came up short as he realized both that his cousin was okay and that Ted was on the floor.

"Bo?"

"I'm alright. I suppose that we'd best call the sheriff and the patrol men, though."

"I'll take care of that."

Enos walked out and sat in his car as he quickly called out over the CB what had happened at the cabin. Afterwards, with shaky hands, he waited for the coroner to come and pronounce the man dead and awaited the beginning of any investigation that was a must after an officer involved shooting. At least he could console himself with one thing. He could give Daisy the comfort of knowing that the murderer of her husband could no longer harm another human being ever again.


	29. Chapter 29

Kim felt woozy as she slowly began to wake up after only the Lord knew how long she'd been unconscious. Before she could even open her eyes, her stomach rebelled against her; giving her only enough time to turned her head as she felt hot bile rise up in her throat. When she felt someone bring up a damp wash cloth to clean her face, she flinched away as her eyes darted to discover who was in the room with her.

"Easy, Darlin'. I'm just tryin' to get you cleaned up a bit."

As Bo gently lifted her head up to put a clean pillow beneath her head, she felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Just over a year ago, she had been put in the hospital by her ex-husband after he'd tried to kill her. She had been sure that she would never see her friends or family ever again; just as she hadn't thought she would this time, either. Upon thinking of her ex-husband, she couldn't help but glance past Bo almost expecting him to burst into the hospital room to finish her off.

Seeing where Kim's attention briefly wandered, Bo guessed the reason and did his best to reassure her that the nightmare that she'd endured was finally over.

"He's gone; and he's never coming back." Bo saw that the fear in his wife's eyes was still just as prevalent as before he spoke so he added, "I'll explain later but all you need to know right now is that he's dead and can never harm you again."

"Dead?" Kim closed her eyes as she tried to process what she was told. Opening her eyes, she reluctantly asked, "You didn't...?"

"No, Darlin'. Not that I didn't want to. Now, how about you don't think anymore about that bastard than you have to." Bo helped Kim adjust her bed so that it sat up at a gentle angle to ensure her comfort. "Your uncle should be back to check on you in about an hour. He's been in here every other one."

Kim smiled in acknowledgment but remained quiet. She could still feel herself trembling in fear despite being told that Ted was no longer someone to be feared. Down the hall, she could hear the footsteps of the medical staff going about their rounds and she tried her best to remember that Ted's could no longer be among them. Still, as she sat next to her husband while he tried to comfort her, each time those same steps approached her door, she watched the door; waiting find out that her ex-husband wasn't quite as dead as she was led to believe.

~01~

Rosco walked into the courthouse and saw Enos at his desk; seeing him typing at his typewriter, he knew what report he was working on. Every officer remembers the first time that they have to take a life in the line of duty. No matter how evil the person was, it is never easy on the officer. Especially when they are as kind and lighthearted as a man like Enos.

Walking over to the desk, Rosco leaned against the desk next to Enos's and waited for the man to look up before asking him how he was holding up. Enos prepared to slap on a smile and a grin to tell the older man that he was okay but Rosco beat him to the punch.

"And don't tell me that you are fine because I ain't goin' to buy it. I want to know the truth."

Enos swallowed hard as he let his head fall forward briefly before answering the question. "Still a little shaken up, I guess. I didn't expect to ever have to... Well, if it was goin' to happen, I can't think of anyone who deserved it more."

"I'll agree, that I won't be mourning that polecat, but it's you that I'm more concerned about."

"Sheriff, I'll be alright. It ain't me who's had to bury my kin or sittin' up at the hospital after bein' tortured by that no good piece of trash."

"Well, to make sure, I want you to take a couple of weeks off. I'll make sure you still get paid. But you're goin' to need to take some R and R after this. Not to mention, the State will be sending you to their shrink for a while until you're cleared to return back to work. Them critters always get under my crawl when they come pokin' around. After you do your sit down and chat, go fishin' or somethin' to get your head back on straight."

Enos nodded as he did his best to turn his attention back to the report. He wanted to finish it as fast as he could. Then he could do his best to ignore the reason for it until he was to go in for the mandatory appointment that the sheriff was mentioning. Not that he really liked the reminder.

~01~

Daisy felt strange sitting upstairs in a room that looked much like her old bedroom. The room she had before the tornado. The room she had before she got married. A room with the same view that she'd grown up with; a view of the hill that overlooks the small farm. Her husband was now buried up on that hill. It didn't seem fair to have only been married for six months and now he was gone. Daisy hugged a pillow to herself as she continued to cry tears that she didn't feel would ever end.

Downstairs, she could hear her uncle puttering around in the kitchen and she knew he would be up soon with a little something for her to eat since she hadn't eaten much of anything in the last few days. At least she didn't think that she had. The last three days since burying Darcy had become a blur in Daisy's mind. Now a week since Darcy's murder, she still felt as if she was living in a fog and all she wanted was for it to lift so she could see her way out of the nightmare that she'd been living through.

Putting the pillow back down on the bed, she stood up and glanced out of the window before drying her eyes and heading downstairs. She couldn't hide upstairs forever.

Daisy walked out into the hall and headed down the stairs of the new farm house before finding Jesse frying up some bacon and making some scrambled eggs. On the table, Daisy could see a plate of toast and some fresh milk already prepared. After pausing in the doorway for a brief moment, she walked over to the cabinet and grabbed a jar of preserves to go with the toast. Her actions caught Jesse's attention.

"I wasn't expecting you down this early. How are you feelin'?"

"Hungry," Daisy lied as she went back to the cabinet to grab a couple of plates for breakfast.

Jesse nodded and took the hint. She wasn't ready to really talk yet. Still, he was glad to see her up and about. The longer one stays locked away mourning in private, the harder it is to face the world without your loved one. As painful as losing her husband was, Jesse knew that his little girl would be alright. Eventually, at least.

He finished the bacon and eggs before joining his niece at the table. He was trying to find a subject to discuss with her that wouldn't be difficult on her when she spoke up instead.

"I heard Luke telling you yesterday that Kim should be ready to leave the hospital today."

"Yes. First thing, if I remember correctly."

Daisy nodded as she thought about the younger woman. She hadn't gone to see her yet. It had hurt too much to think that she had been the last person to see Darcy alive. Now, she couldn't help but remember that it also meant that she had been forced to watch him die. All because Ted wanted to cause as much pain as he could.

"How's she holdin' up?"

"Bo said that she's not really sleeping. Not that I blame her. She's been through quite an ordeal. Irving said that there isn't much else that they can do for her in the hospital. The rest, only time can help heal."

Daisy reached for the milk and paused before pouring some in her glass. Even though she hadn't seen her cousin's wife yet, she'd been told about some of what Ted had done to her before he buried her and left her for dead. A shiver ran up her spine as she thought about being trapped in a cabin with that mad man for a whole weekend. The only positive thing about that man and this whole mess now was that he's dead. He can no longer hurt another human being.

"I suppose time will have to help heal a lot of things," Daisy said before setting the milk back down.

"It will, Daisy. I promise, it will. It can be very easy to get blinded by darkness and hard to see the sliver of light that can be waiting around the next corner. The important thing is to keep walking until you get to that corner." Jesse reached out his hand and rested it on Daisy's for a brief moment before he changed the subject.

"I promised to take the boys to the park this afternoon. I couldn't convince you to help an old man out with two such rambunctious boys, could I? It's such a nice day, it would be good to get out of the house."

Daisy gave a weak smile before nodding. Yes, she did need to get out of the house.

~01~

Bo thanked the nurse before stepping behind his wife's wheelchair so he could wheel her out now that she's been discharged. He's never been fond of hospitals and it seemed that every time he or one of his family members were here, it was only after one crisis or another. He just wanted to get his wife home so she could start to heal after everything that she'd been through in the last week.

"Bo, a wheelchair is unnecessary. I'm perfectly capable of walking."

"I know. But you'd never deprive me the chance to drive ya around, now would you?" Bo looked down with his best smile as he continued toward the exit and then on toward where he'd parked Kim's car. Once at the car, he held out a hand to his wife to help her up out of the chair. Once she was in the car, he returned the wheelchair before getting behind the wheel of the car and steered it towards their cabin in the woods on Duke Land.

Kim had been very quiet about all that Ted had done to her and Bo certainly didn't want to push her to talk about anything that she wasn't ready to, just yet. Instead, Bo decided to try to talk to her about some of the everyday things like getting the crops in the field and even told her that the twins have been playing with some new chicks that had hatched in the last few days. Well, at least Mikey was playing with them. Jay would watch from a few feet away until after his brother would show him that they babies were calm enough for even his little brother.

He then went on about how he and his cousins were looking forward the next race in a couple of weeks and how Luke would be driving in it. Basically, he did his best to take his wife's mind off of the terror that she had lived through only a week ago.

Once they pulled up at the cabin, he helped her out of the car and swore that Kim flinched at his touch. Bo silently cursed the man responsible and hoped that he was suffering in hell for what he'd done to his wife. As they walked up the small walkway he explained that the family hadn't thought that she'd be up to a lot of company but that they'd check in later on.

The two went inside and Kim could feel Bo's eyes on her as she absorbed the feeling of security that her home gave her. Of course, only a week ago she would have thought that nothing could have ever harmed her in her office in town, too. So was she really safe here after all? She reached out for Bo's hand and walked over to the couch to sit down. She just wanted to take comfort in her husband and the fact that, for right now, she was with someone who loved her and would protect her.

~01~

Boss walked into his office at the courthouse and saw an envelope sitting on his desk. He snatched it up and tore it open to read the latest note from his blackmailer. The note reminded him that he had failed to resign as commissioner by the end of the month. Now he was given one last chance to do so before the anonymous polecat would deliver their pictures to the state police showing him accepting a delivery at night.

Taking his cigar out of his mouth he started to mutter to himself. He then sat down at his desk and pulled out the copies of the pictures that his blackmailer had sent as proof of the evidence to be used against him. Taking a hard look at the pictures with a clear mind, Boss couldn't see where anything in them showed him actually doing anything illegal. Circumspect, maybe; not illegal.

Glancing around the office, he noticed that his window was cracked open. He knew that he'd closed it before he left out before lunch which means that who ever left the envelope had to have come in through it. In fact, that might even be the way that the person has been getting in each time that they've left messages.

"One thing is for sure, I'm not giving up my job without a fight. Especially since these pictures don't prove anything. Now, I've just got to figure out who's had the gall to try to blackmail me."


	30. Chapter 30

Daisy left her uncle and the twins behind at the park and did the one thing that she hadn't done in a week; she pointed her Jeep towards her home on the edge of the county. The home that she'd shared with her husband for only six months. When she pulled up outside, she saw Darcy's crop-duster sitting at the end of the small runway and instantly she recalled the hours that she'd spent in the small plane flying around in it with him. Together in the plane, Darcy had made her feel as if she was a bird who could spread her wings and go absolutely anywhere that she wanted. Though when it was all said and done, she knew that Hazzard was the only place that she'd ever want to live.

Daisy got out of the Jeep and looked to the plane longingly for a few moments before heading inside. The place looked just the way it had the last time she had been there with her husband. His model airplanes were still on the mantel and the dishes were next to the sink where she had left them to dry after she and Darcy had the last meal that they'd ever enjoy together. Daisy walked through the house only to find the bits and pieces left behind of her husband that she'd never again get to hold close to her.

In the bathroom, there were the towels that he'd tossed on the floor after his last shower along with his dirty clothes. He never was the tidiest of men but she hadn't really minded since she'd grown up around her cousins. No one could be a worse housekeeper than Bo.

In the nursery, she looked at the crib and recalled how Darcy had been determined to put the thing together without asking for help despite the fact that the instructions that came with it had been less than helpful. It had taken him hours but in the end, he'd declared that it would be strong enough to last for years to come. Which was good since they planned to fill it with another child just as soon as the one that they were expecting was ready for a larger bed.

In the bedroom, there were his shoes sitting out beside of the bed and his clothes in the closet. To Daisy, the whole room still smelled like Darcy. Sitting on the bed, Daisy pulled her husband's pillow over to her and hugged it tightly to herself as she breathed deeply; trying to draw in as much of his scent as she could. She then laid back and let herself cry once more in the privacy of her own home. She didn't know how long she remained there but eventually she became aware of the fact that the sun was going down which told her that it was well after time to eat dinner.

Daisy went to the kitchen and without even thinking about it, she reached into the refrigerator and began to fix one of Darcy's favorite meals. She sat at the table looking at the empty seat as she ate and listened to the quiet of the house. She didn't recall the house ever sounding so deathly quiet; even when Darcy was off on a flight. It felt as if the house itself was mourning the absence of the man who had lived here for the last few years. Ever since he'd earned just enough from dusting crops and flying commuter flights to put a down payment to buy the old house on a piece of land large enough to let him create a small runway for his plane.

The silence was broken as she was washing her lone plate and single glass and fork by the sound of her eldest cousin's car pulling up the dirt driveway. With a sad smile on her lips, she knew that he'd be the one to check in on her after learning that she'd returned home. It had been three days since the funeral and it had just been time. Still, she was glad that she'd have someone else in the house for just a while; to make it feel less empty.

Luke got out of his car and headed inside. He reached out with an arm and put it around his cousin as he popped a kiss on her forehead.

"Uncle Jesse told me that you came home today. How are you holding up?"

"I wish people would stop asking me that." Daisy stepped away from her cousin and went over to sit on the couch and motioned for her cousin to do the same. "I came home so I wouldn't have to keep answering it."

"I know that the last few days have been hard. I just didn't want you be out all by yourself if you weren't ready to be alone."

"Ready for it?" Daisy leaned her head onto the back of the couch and sighed. "I'm not sure if I am. But I think I need to be. Just for a while. Tell Uncle Jesse and the others that I'll be alright. And I love them for worrying about me."

"It's one of the things that we do best," Luke said with a smirk. He wanted to say so much more but didn't dare. Like how he didn't think that he'd be able to face losing Jo as bravely as his cousin has after losing Darcy. He'd come so close to doing just that right before their wedding when the plane that she was supposed to be on went down. He didn't know that she'd changed planes due to the weather and the thought that he'd lost her had been enough to send him down a dark, spiraling descent into a depression. When he found out that Jo was alive, he'd never been more ecstatic in all his life. His nightmare was over.

That couldn't be said the same for Daisy. Darcy was gone and wasn't coming back.

"And no one worries better than you or Uncle Jesse," Daisy did her best to tease her older cousin. "I swear, the two of you are turning into fretful old women."

"Who are you calling old?" Luke gave a look of mock offense.

"You, silly. Though at least you still have all of your hair... Or most of it."

"What do you mean, _Most of it_?" Luke hopped up and went over to the mirror that Daisy had in the hallway. He did a quick look in the mirror while checking for any signs of hair loss. He'd never considered himself vain but he was too young to start looking like Boss Hogg. Hearing a sound that he'd not heard in a week, Daisy's soft giggling, Luke turned back and gave a soured look. "That was not funny. Never joke about a man losing his hair."

"And here I thought that Bo was the one that was more worried about his looks." Daisy continued to laugh at her cousin and soon she just couldn't stop herself. Now that she had started, all she could do was to keep laughing at Luke long after her little joke stopped being funny. She was laughing so hard that her eyes started to tear up. That was when the laughter turned to crying and once more she just couldn't stop. It had felt great to laugh but with the laughter she was reminded of why it had been so long since she'd been afforded a reason to feel that good.

Daisy felt her cousin's arms around her and she leaned into him as she continued to cry the tears that she'd thought had dried up. Unfortunately, no matter how many she cried, there seemed to be an endless supply of them to replace the ones she'd already shed.

~01~

Bo leaned back on the bed and held his wife as she finally drifted off to sleep in her own bed for the first time in a week. She'd been more quiet than usual since she'd come home from the hospital but he understood that with all that she'd gone through, it would take a while to get back to normal. With Kim sound asleep, Bo shifted them both so that he was spooning her and draped a protective arm around her as he allowed himself to drift off as well.

Hours later, he was awaken by his wife thrashing around beneath his arm in the midst of a nightmare. Groggily, Bo sat up and leaned over Kim as he tried his best to wake her up. Meanwhile, she continued to fight him as if her life depended on it.

"Darlin', you need to wake up. It's alright; it's me, Bo. You're safe now. You're home."

Bo realized that by holding on to Kim, he may be making things worse. Reluctantly, he pulled his hands back and watched as his wife pulled away from him and off of the bed completely. Kim slid to the floor and pulled her knees up to her chest. Bo could hear her cries as he moved to kneel in front of her but did his best to keep his hands to himself for the time being. Right now, any hands that his wife felt would be her ex-husband's in her mind.

"Kim, wake up. It's over. He's gone and won't ever be back." Bo watched as he saw a glimmer of recognition entered his wife's eyes. She was beginning to wake up.

"What? Bo?"

"It's alright. It was just a nightmare." Bo held out a hand to her and waited for Kim to cautiously reach out to put her own hand in it. He helped her up on her feet then moved over to sit on the bed with her.

He knew from experience that when she had one of her nightmares that he had to wait for her to come to him. He knew before he ever fell in love with her that her ex was a source of an awful lot of pain; pain that she relived in her sleeping hours. Of course as the two of them had begun to build their life together, many of those nightmares had lessened. Now this. With Ted Wright's final days, he'd seen to it that he left enough to fill Kim's nights with terror for years to come.

Kim seemed to deflate right in front of him as she molded herself into his chest. Bo leaned back into the pillows on the bed and pulled his wife with him as he let her cry herself back to sleep. All the while he did his best to soothe her knowing that this was the first night of many to come that would be spent fighting a ghost. Hours later, they both fell asleep just before dawn.

~01~

The next day just before noon, Jo pulled up in front of the small cabin in the woods. She knocked on the door and opened it up to head inside as she did so. On the couch, she found Kim trying to read a book. When Jo greeted her, she watched as the younger woman jumped in place. Jo decided not to draw attention to Kim's reaction and instead went ahead and invited her to lunch with her. Jesse had offered to take care of Faith which meant that she had a few hours free.

Reluctantly, Kim agreed to go out for lunch. She rode beside Jo in the Mustang as she shared some of the local gossip that she'd heard while at the market the day before. They drove towards town still chatting until they finally made it to the small eatery and pulled up out front. The two women walked into the small diner together as Jo continued to make small talk. Occasionally, Kim would add a comment or two which encouraged the other woman. Jo hoped that the outing would help her damaged friend by getting her out of herself for a couple of hours; not to mention getting her out of the cabin where she had nothing to do but relive everything that Ted had put her through.

The Duke Women ended up off in the back of the dining room and Kim took the chair facing the rest of the diners. After both of their salads were ordered they began to relax and, for a brief time, it was as if the last week had never happened. At least until someone back in the kitchen dropped a stack of plates. At the sound of the clattering, Kim stiffened as her eyes began to dart from one side to the other in search of the cause of the noise.

Jo put a hand over her friend's as she softly said her name; trying to bring her back to the present.

"Kim," Jo was careful to make sure that only Kim could hear her as she spoke. "It was only some dishes. Lauren must be helping in the back today. You know how accident prone she is. A few broken dishes, that's all."

Jo could feel a tremor beneath her hand telling her that Kim was shaken to the core. She then heard a sharp and ragged breath before the brunette slowly released it. Jo squeezed her hand and gave her an understanding smile.

"Are you okay?"

Kim swallowed the lump in her throat before slowly nodding. Without pulling her hand away, she reached for her tea with her other hand and took a steadying sip. "I'm sorry."

Jo raised a brow in question. "For what? You haven't done anything wrong."

"I can't even go out to lunch without falling apart. I ... I hate this! I hate feeling so ... fragile." Kim clasp both of her hands in front of her with her elbows up on the table. She then rested her head on her hands as she continued to take slow and steady breaths as she tried to calm herself.

"Kim, if there was one word that I'd say that you're not, it's fragile. Look at everything that you've done in the last few years. You faced Ted on your own for how long? How many times did you have to go to court because of him? How many times did he put you in the hospital? All the while, you never let it show or ask for your family's help. And when you were told that you couldn't get a divorce for a whole year, you didn't crumble like some weak fragile thing who couldn't think for herself. You took your situation and used it to help others.

"I know what it's like in some of the areas that you went to when you were with the Doctors Without Borders group. A fragile woman wouldn't have been able to do what you've done. And if you are feeling overwhelmed now after everything that's happened in the last week, again, that isn't what I'd consider as fragile. It takes a real strong person to survive what you have. There is nothing wrong with admitting that your nerves are frayed. You have every right to what you are feeling right now without feeling like you have to punish yourself for it."

Kim looked up into Jo's eyes and saw a fire burning there that told her just how much the other woman believed in everything that she'd just said. In fact, it looked like she had more to say but she held back. Kim figured that she didn't want to push too much while sitting in the diner. Kim carefully swallowed before nodding. Fortunately, she was saved from having to reply since the waitress returned with their food.

With the lunch crowd filling the restaurant, the two Duke Women began to talk about lighter things since in a small place like the Dixie Diner, it was hard for others to not overhear anything that they might would say. Instead, they both tried to enjoy their meal and time together; even if Kim did have a hard time concentrating on her friend with so many other people around.

~01~

Jo went to pick Faith up from Jesse's and answered the question on his face before he ever got the word out. "She's about as good as can be expected. She's taking the blame for a lot of what happened with Ted which doesn't help. But given time, I think she'll be alright."

Jesse nodded thoughtfully. "She's used to taking that kind of burden from that man. It'll take a while to stop thinking that way; even after all of this time with Bo. It's hard to unlearn that kind of behavior, but she will. I'm positive about it."

"How about Daisy? Have you seen her today?" Jo asked about the other woman who was affected by the latest exploits of the escaped convict only a week ago. She knew that Luke spent most of the night with her but he'd been tight lipped about what had happened over at the small house on the edge of the county other than that she'd be alright.

"She came out while you were gone. I helped her with some of the legal paperwork that she had to fill out for Darcy's job. I hoped that she'd give herself a bit more time but I think she was just looking for something to do. She even asked Boss if he needed any extra help this weekend out at the Boar's Nest."

"I can understand that, a bit. She's never been one to just sit around and do nothing for very long. It only makes sense that she'd want to work through the pain."

"I just hope she doesn't push herself too hard." Jesse also wished that Daisy would think about moving back home but he knew that it was too soon to suggest such a thing right now. The worst time to make such a major change would be right after a death. She needed to be allowed to become settled once more before he'd bring it up to her. Still, he hates to think of her so far from the farm all by herself with a baby on the way.

"She won't. She's strong and knows her own limits. And as for the bar, between the fellas and all of her other friends who will be dropping in from time to time, I'm sure she'll have plenty of people reminding her to take it easy."

"I know," Jesse let out a heavy breath as he spoke. Jo leaned forward and gave him a hug and a kiss on the forehead. She then bade him goodbye before gathering up her daughter and her things to head home. Kim and Bo would be joining her and Luke for supper so she'd better start getting something in mind to fix. Then perhaps they can have a relaxing meal that would go over just a bit better than lunch had. A quiet meal with just the four of them rather than out in public in a busy diner.


	31. Chapter 31

Boss watched as Rosco clumsily connected the trip wire to the camera that was pointed toward the desk. He was certain that his blackmailer would be back any day now and he wanted to first know who the person was. Second, he wanted to make sure that he knew that Jefferson Davis Hogg wasn't one to be blackmailed by someone too afraid to even do it in person.

Taking out his cigar, J.D. started to think on just how he could turn the tables on his anonymous shadow. If he could get something incriminating on the other man then he might be able to see to it that his job not only wasn't in any danger, but he just might be able to have something to hold over as security against future blackmail.

With a strike of inspiration, he reached into his bottom drawer to grab a pair of leather gloves before heading over to his typewriter and putting a piece of paper in and began to type away. He then ordered Rosco to set up another camera. This time a video camera aimed directly toward the window.

~01~

Daisy walked out to her Jeep after her lunch shift and headed home. On the way, she saw Cooter hooking up a car with his wrecker as he often does. The problem was, Daisy could swear that she'd seen the car at the garage earlier that day. Wasn't it the one that Cooter had just bought from the junkyard? Daisy just knew that the family friend had brought the car out so that he'd have an excuse to be out so far out in the county so he could report to the rest of the Dukes that she'd made it home safe and sound.

Daisy shook her head and smiled to herself. She was truly touched that so many people were concerned for her. Even the tips that she'd gotten today during her four hour shift were more that she'd ever gotten during a full eight hour shift while wearing her shortest shorts. The bar's patrons wanted to help her in the only way that they knew how. Now that Darcy was gone, she will have to be her child's sole provider. A scary thought to Daisy.

She'd gone to the bank the day before to pay the mortgage on the house, thankful that she and Darcy had enough in their account to cover the expense. Of course, that left little extra for anything else. She knew that Darcy's insurance would be enough to pay the mortgage for a while but she honestly didn't know what she'd do after it ran out. She was already twenty-nine weeks pregnant yet felt like she was thirty-nine. As she gets closer to her time to deliver, she'll be able to work less and less; meaning that there will be less and less money to pay the bills.

She knew that Jesse would let her move back to the farm but she wasn't ready. She and Darcy had discussed her delivering at home rather than the hospital. Between Jesse being a midwife for longer than she could remember and then Kim being a doctor, she didn't see any reason to have to give birth in a sterile hospital. With her husband now dead, Daisy wanted to stay in the house at least until she gave birth. That way, it could feel as if a part of Darcy was with her during the delivery.

Pulling up at the house, Daisy caught sight of the crop duster and she felt saddened that it would never again fly with her husband at the controls. Feeling an uncontrollable urge, Daisy got out of the Jeep and walked inside to grab the keys to the small plan. After a quick stop at the bathroom, she returned to the plane and got in. Within moments, she had the plane ready to take off. It was then that she had the distinct feeling that if anyone in her family knew that she was about to take the crop duster up for a joyride, they'd each have a fit.

Maybe that was what made the flight over the small rural county all the more enjoyable.

~01~

Kim stepped into the clinic for the first time in what felt like a lifetime. She'd come early since she wanted to arrive before either her uncle or Sue showed up for work. She looked around the small waiting area and noted that it looked as it always had. There were small but comfortable chairs for those who would need to wait to see her or her uncle. On a few end tables there were magazines that were a couple of months old along with a few more recent ones on topics ranging from cars, gardening, home décor, and even a few on hunting for their patients.

After passing through the small lobby, Kim made her way down the narrow hallway past the examination rooms toward her office. With a shaky hand, Kim opened her door and immediately noticed that the carpeting had been changed.

Looking down, Kim figured that the family had wanted to remove any evidence of Darcy's blood from the office. But she didn't need to see the stains to know exactly where the man had fallen. She saw the moment the life drained from his face nearly every time she closed her eyes. Each time she relived it, she was reminded of the fact that now, thanks to her, Daisy would be forced to raise her child alone. The only reason Darcy was dead was because he had simply come to see her when her ex-husband came for her.

For Kim, the overwhelming guilt that she felt every time she saw Daisy was worse than anything else that Ted had inflicted on her. The other woman had waited so long to finally start her family and before her son was even born she had lost her husband. Their son will never know his father and it was all her fault, regardless of what anyone else said to her about it. She knew the truth of it all.

Kim stepped into the room and sat down at her desk. Everything looked so normal to her. Her desk had a monthly calendar on top of it along with her pen and paperclip holders. Sitting on the corner of her desk was a photo of her and Bo after he'd won a race the previous year. In it she saw someone who looked so foreign to her right now. The woman in that photograph believed that the worst of her life was behind her and that nothing else could ever steal her happiness away again. Now she knew better. Just when she thought that life couldn't get any better, Ted had come and sent her world crashing down around her.

Engrossed in her own thoughts, Kim never heard the door to the clinic open when her uncle came in for the morning. When he stopped in his niece's doorway he saw her jump in her seat when he knocked on the door to get her attention.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to ask how you are doing."

Kim swallowed hard as she tried to ignore the fact that while she knew it was her uncle in the doorway, it was Darcy's last moment that she saw in her mind as he stood there. She gave herself a mental shake before she forced a smile on her face.

"I'll be alright. I just wanted to see what all I've missed lately."

"Just the usual stuff around here. Not much to really tell."

Irving stepped inside the office and sat down in front of the desk facing his niece. He then began to tell her about some of the patients who would be coming in for an appointment for the day. He knew that Mrs. Morrison would be coming in for treatment of her lumbago and Mr. Holstein would be coming in under the eagle eye of his wife to get his blood pressure checked. In addition, little Jenny Pots would be in to get a cast taken off of her arm now that it was healed up from breaking it after falling out of a tree a few weeks back. As her uncle spoke, Kim's mind just couldn't focus on what he was saying. She couldn't help but remember that this room was very recently the site of a murder of a family member and friend.

Irving watched his niece and noticed that, while she had looked pale when he first came in, she now looked positively pasty. He reached forward and put his hand over hers and felt just how cold and clammy Kim's skin was. He felt her increased pulse before he gently shook her hand on the desk to get her attention. When she finally looked up, Irving could see the moisture in her eyes that refused to fall.

"Kim, honey. You know, you don't have to come back yet."

"I can't just stay home," Kim said weakly. She hated looking over her shoulder at every sound and to be honest, there was only but so much cooking and cleaning that needed to be done for just two people out at the cabin.

"I know," Irving said with understanding in his voice. He then was struck with inspiration. After all, it was this office that was associated with her recent trauma. "Well, you could try working out at the hospital instead of from the office for a while. If you are wanting to stay busy, I'd say that would be a good place to start."

Kim looked up at her uncle and saw that he was waiting for her to reply. Going to the hospital would allow her to work without the constant reminder of Darcy's murder or of her kidnapping but would she be able to put it out of her mind while even there? Kim knew that the only way to know was to go there and try.

"What about the clinic?"

"I'll manage the clinic. You just take care of yourself for now. If working out at the hospital will help you do that, then that is what you should do. Why don't you go ahead and head out there and see about getting some shifts scheduled for you? Try getting back to work slowly. Try only a couple of hours at a time."

Kim nodded as she stood. "I'll keep that in mind."

"I'll walk you out. If you're lucky, Sue won't even be in yet." Irving knew that his receptionist as still getting over finding Darcy's body but that wouldn't stop her from gossiping about Kim coming in for work without being able to stay for the day. He wanted to protect his niece from any further gossip than she was already the subject of.

~01~

Boss walked into his office and saw the file that he'd planted for his blackmailer out on top of the desk. He then grinned as he pulled his gloves out and put them on. Only after his hands were covered did he pick up the file containing three blank sheets of paper as well as a single sheet with his response to the other man's demand that he resign. He told the man that he needed another week to get his affairs in order. He'd have it if he returned in seven days.

Boss then took the blank paper over to his typewriter and began to type up the new incriminating evidence that he could now hold over his blackmailer. Once he was done, he made his way over to the camera and smiled. As soon as Rosco shows up, he planned to have him take the film in to be developed. And as soon as the pictures were back he'd know who had tried to out master him of all people.


	32. Chapter 32

Boss sat in his office in the dark as he waited for his late night visitor. Grinning to himself, he knew that by the time the night was over, his days of looking over his shoulder thanks to the blackmail would be over. J.D. looked up at the clock as he heard movement outside of his office window.

Right on time, Boss thought to himself. He knew that the blackmailer wouldn't be able to resist coming back. In his letter that he'd left in the file for him during his last late night visit, Boss had plead for an extra three days. If the man would agree to it, he promised to make it worth his time. Money makes the world go around and in this case, the lust for it was going to make this money grabber's head spin.

Once he could hear footsteps behind him in the office, Boss spun around with a flashlight in hand. The beam of the light fell on the face of the man who had been blackmailing him for weeks.

"Huey Hogg, you should have known better than to try to blackmail me."

"I'm not trying, Uncle Boss. I'm succeeding." Huey moved out of the beam of light so that he could see his uncle better. "Now, if I'm not mistaken, there is a little matter of some money that you promised so that I wouldn't take some very incriminating photos to the State Police."

Boss reached over to turn his lamp on his desk on now that he no longer needed to maintain secrecy in his office. When he did, Huey saw that he was grinning from ear to ear.

"I don't think you'll be turning over those pictures after all."

"And why not?"

J.D. took a cigar out of his pocket and lit it before slowly waving the match out. "Because, blackmail is a two-way street."

Boss opened his desk and pulled out a file that had been put in an evidence bag before he continued, "Remember this file? The one from your last visit?"

Huey gave his uncle a curious look. "What about it?"

"If you recall, there were three blank sheets of paper in this file alongside the one that had my note to you on it."

"So."

"So, after your last visit you left some very important prints behind; fingerprints to be exact." J.D. chuckled.

"Fingerprints?"

"Afterwards, you were kind enough to leave a full confession of how you arranged for the faulty medications to be delivered to Hazzard, putting the good citizens of this county at risk all for the opportunity to seize control of my holdings."

"You didn't?"

"I did. Or rather, you did. You can confess to an awful lot of crimes in three pages, Huey."

"I didn't confess to nothin'."

"Your fingerprints on those sheets of paper say that you did." Boss chuckled as he leaned back in his chair. "Now, unless you want me to see to it that those papers get to the State Police, we need to come to an understanding. And before you start getting any ideas, they ain't here and you won't be able to find them if you searched for them for a hundred years. However, all it will take will be a phone call to make your world come crashing down. Now sit down so we can have a real chat."

Huey looked around the office before taking a seat. Where did his plan go wrong? It should have been foolproof. Instead, he was now at his uncle's mercy.

~01~

Kira pulled the covers back in frustration. She was sweating so heavily the sheets were drenched. She then reached over for her glass of water on the nightstand that Jebb had left there for her before they went to sleep and took a sip. The ice was melted in the unusually hot June weather but it was better than nothing.

She looked over at Jebb and saw that he was sweating nearly as much as she was. His blond hair was matted to his forehead and he'd thrown off the sheets in his sleep before Kira had woken up as well. She knew that he was tired from working out in the fields. Even though yesterday was Saturday and the men had only work out in them for half the day, it had been a long, hot week. Fortunately, the sun would be rising on a day where they all will be able to relax.

Kira thought about the small presents that she'd helped the boys make for Jebb for Father's Day. They'd had a ball making them one afternoon and it had been all that she could do to keep the boys from bringing them out too early. She had to end up hiding them though there was nothing she could do when they started talking about the presents during dinner. When the boys went on about them Jebb grinned and told them that he couldn't wait for the next day. Of course there wasn't any real surprise left but just knowing that the boys had worked so hard on the gifts was present enough.

Kira laid back on the bed and instantly sat back up as she felt the sip of water that she'd just taken make a return trip to her mouth. One part of pregnancy that she absolutely hated was the constant heartburn, though usually water never left her with such a bitter taste. Looking at the clock, Kira saw that there just another hour before sunrise so she decided it wasn't worth trying to get anymore sleep. As it was, she'd been lying in bed so much, her back was aching anyway.

Not wanting to wake Jebb up, she grabbed her book off of the night stand and went downstairs to sit in the chaise lounge to read by the light of the lamp until sunrise.

~01~

Luke woke up to the sound of his eight month old crying down the hall, letting both of her parents know that she was hungry. Luke sat up and turned his head to find that Jo was already up tending to Faith. Getting up, Luke walked out of the bedroom and met his wife in the hall as she was carrying their daughter toward the stairs.

"Mornin'," Luke draped an arm around his wife and kissed her forehead. "I see the Duchess is up bright and early this morning."

"She heard that it was a special day and figured she'd get a head start on it." Jo shifted Faith in her arms as she spoke. The infant started to sputter in Luke's general direction so Jo laughed. "I think she's trying to wish you a happy first Father's Day."

Luke joined in with his wife as he took the baby from her. "How could it not be happy? I got myself a pretty little girl and a beautiful wife. I'm a lucky guy."

Jo smiled as she laughed. "More than you know. If you have Faith, I'll go get some breakfast together."

"I got her." Luke touched his forehead to his infants and asked, "So, what do you say to some applesauce for breakfast?"

Faith babbled and giggled in her father's arms in response.

The morning passed with the small family getting ready for Sunday services. Once in the small church, the entire Duke family sat around a pleased Jesse Duke. He loved having his family all around him; especially after a year that showed him just how easily it was to lose those you cared for.

Beside him, Daisy sat in a new dress that showed off her thirty-two week pregnant belly. On the other side of her, Jebb sat with his boys alone since Kira was at home resting. She'd join the rest of the family later on for their special Father's Day dinner but in the meantime, she knew better than to push herself for the baby's sake. On the row behind Jesse, Luke sat with his wife and daughter. Next to the small family, Bo and Kim were joined by Irving.

The family was almost perfect. Almost. Despite the smiles and laughter of the morning, there was a noticeable absence felt in the church.

After the services were over, the family once more split up with plans to get together for supper so that the ones with family out of town could call their fathers to wish them a wonderful day. Jo called the general and spent nearly an hour on the phone with him. He promised he'd make time to travel to Hazzard again real soon to see his daughter and granddaughter while Jo returned the promise to make a trip up to D.C. just as soon as she and Luke could leave the farm for a few days.

Down the road, Jebb was making similar promises to his own folks about going to see them as well. Of course he would have to wait until after his daughter was born. Something he didn't want to rush by any means since he knew all too well the stress that having a premature infant would bring on the family; especially his wife.

~01~

Daisy parked up on the hill overlooking the family farmhouse and walked over to the small family cemetery. She had a fresh bouquet of wild flowers in her hand and made her way over to a grave that hadn't been there only a month ago. She knelt down next to the headstone that had arrived just two days ago.

Daisy gave a sad smile as she read the words engraved in the stone.

"Darcy, I came to wish you a happy Father's Day. I had planned for the two of us to have a picnic. I started planning today right after you surprised me on Mother's Day with a trip up to the mountains. Needless to say, things haven't turned out the way either of us planned."

Daisy placed the flowers on the grave and wiped a single tear that threatened to fall.

"One thing that I regret the most is that you'll never get to see our son. But don't worry, I'll tell him about you every day. He'll know that you were a good man and would have made a terrific father. I can only hope that I can raise him up to be as good of a man as you were."

Daisy looked back toward the farmhouse and saw that her cousins had started to show up for the supper that was planned to honor the men in the family who were fathers; both by blood and by deed. She knew that they'll be expecting her soon. She didn't have much time left.

"I'm scared, Darcy. I'm not sure I can do this alone." Daisy pursed her lips together before she continued. "I know, I have the others but it won't be the same. I miss you so much. I wish I could see you just one more time. Maybe it would be easier."

After hearing the General Lee pull up down at the house, Daisy wiped her eyes once more before resting her hand on the headstone for a brief moment before standing back up.

"Goodbye, Darcy. I love you."


	33. Chapter 33

Daisy sat in her small living room as she waited until it was time for her to leave for her shift out at the bar. She was really feeling the August heat and she was praying for rain to cool the day off a little. The month was just beginning and while she knew that she'd seen warmer days in the past, she wasn't thirty-seven weeks pregnant then.

With the start of the month, Daisy knew that her son would be born in only a couple of weeks. She couldn't believe that she was so close to her delivery date already. So much had happened since she had first taken her pregnancy test here in this very house before Christmas. In only nine months, she'd learned that she was pregnant, got engaged, had gotten married and subsequently had become a widow. She had planned to welcome her son with her husband by her side. Instead, she would have to do so without Darcy.

Feeling beyond tired, Daisy forced herself to stand up and grab her purse before heading out to her Jeep. Friday nights are always busy out at the Boar's Nest but with today being payday for the workers out at the mill, Daisy knew that she could expect nice tips. Fortunately, she noticed that as her stomach had gotten larger over the summer, so had her tips. She knew that the people of Hazzard felt sorry for her and felt that tipping generously was one way to help her now that she was a widow expecting a child.

As Daisy climbed into her Jeep, she glanced up and saw that there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Seeing that, she knew that she couldn't expect that rain shower to cool things off after all.

~01~

Jebb put two plates down for his sons as they each climbed into their chairs at the kitchen table. With the summer heat being so oppressive, he and the boys were both shirtless; something that he knew would have never been permitted when he was younger. His mother had always insisted that to arrive at the dinner table without being fully dressed was uncivilized. All Jebb knew was that it was hot and if he was uncomfortable then his sons had to be, too. He hated to admit it but he'd actually started to consider looking into getting central air installed in the house. After working out in the fields all day, he would like to be able to relax in a cool home rather than continue to sweat all through the night.

After giving his boys their dinner of cold fried chicken, potato salad, and a glass of milk, Jebb prepared a plate for Kira and got ready to take it upstairs for her. A large part of himself couldn't believe that his wife was still pregnant. Especially after all that had happened on Easter weekend. Kira was just starting her thirty-ninth week and both she and Jebb could rest easy knowing that if their daughter was born now, she would be considered full-term.

Jebb did one last check on Mikey and Jay before turning to head upstairs. He stopped short when he saw his wife as she sat on the couch in the living room.

"Kira, I was just on my way upstairs. You didn't have to come down. You know that you aren't really supposed to be up and-"

"Jebb, I think you'd better call Uncle Jesse to come watch the boys," Kira interrupted her husband before taking a sharp breath. That sharp intake of breath let Jebb know exactly why she wanted Jesse called. The baby was coming; now.

"Right."

Jebb put the tray that he'd made up for Kira back down as he reached for the phone. He waited only a minute before his uncle answered the call and he was quick to stutter and tell the family patriarch what was going on. Jesse reminded his nephew to stay calm and assured him that he'd only take a couple of minutes to drive next door to watch the two toddlers for him.

After he hung up, he looked around the room as if trying to remember what he was supposed to do next. He knew that Kira had a bag packed in the back of the car already. In fact, it had been there for months. Jesse was coming to watch the kids. What else was there to do?

"Jebb, you might want to sit down and eat before we go. I know you're starved." Kira grinned through a contraction as she could practically see the thoughts going through Jebb's mind darting across his face. "Then grab a shirt."

"Eat? I don't have time for that. Do I?" Jebb reached over to the kitchen chair where he'd left his shirt earlier as he spoke.

"If this one takes as long as those two did, you will." Kira referred to being in labor for much of the three days that she had been locked away in the cellar after being kidnapped before her boys were born.

Jebb eyed his wife as he reached into the bowl that held the chicken that he'd gotten out of the refrigerator. He then leaned against the counter as he took a bite of the chicken leg.

"You could sit down, you know. Jesse will take a minute to get here."

"Unc Jess come here?" Mikey asked as he grinned up at his father.

"Yes, Uncle Jesse is going to stay with you and Jay while Mommy and I go to the hospital."

"Why?" Jay turned in his chair to look at his mother with his question.

"Remember what we told you about how you are going to have a new baby sister?" Kira waited for both boys to nod before continuing, "It's time for her to be born."

"Us come too!" Mikey climbed out of his chair and ran into the living room and jumped onto the couch next to his mother.

"No, not tonight." Jebb followed his son and picked him up and took him back to his place at the dinner table. "You stay here with Uncle Jesse tonight."

Mikey pouted a bit as his father walked over and picked him up and set him back in his chair. Reluctantly, Mikey went back to eating on his own piece of chicken.

Meanwhile, outside Jesse was pulling up and got out of his truck with a bit of a spring in his step. Another Duke was ready to be born; a little girl to give Faith a playmate and sister for Mikey and Jay. Jesse hurried through the side door into the kitchen and found the little family waiting for him. He saw that Jebb had allowed both boys to strip down to just their underwear and by the unbuttoned shirt on their father, Jesse could tell that his nephew hadn't exactly planned to be fully dressed for supper either. Jesse shook his head at the thought of the boys being allowed to dine like small heathens but this wasn't his home so he kept his mouth shut, even though his thoughts in the manner were plain to see on his face. Instead of addressing his nephew, he gave his attention to his niece.

"Kira, how are ya feelin'?" Jesse asked just as a contraction hit Kira once more. Once it passed Kira gave her response through gritted teeth.

"How do you think?"

Nodding, Jesse then asked how far apart the contractions were to which Kira told him that they were about ten minutes apart. While that wasn't terribly close, Jesse knew that with Kira's history, she should go ahead and get to the hospital now. He assured the parents that he'd see to their older children as they both headed out the door. Jesse then got on the phone to start sharing that news that the newest Duke was on her way; though she likely wouldn't arrive until the next day.

~01~

Bo and Kim had joined Luke and Jo at their home for dinner as they do a couple of times a week. Both women would share the cooking chores as the fellas would take care of the farm animals in the barn before sitting around the dining table to enjoy a meal together. With it being Friday night, the fellas planned to head to the Boar's Nest for a couple of beers while the women planned to watch a movie or two once Faith was put down for the night.

Since Kim's ordeal with her ex-husband back at the beginning of the summer, she had begun to spend less and less time in town and if she wasn't working at the hospital she could usually be found at one of the three farmhouses while Bo was working out in the fields. In town, Irving had swapped offices with Kim in the clinic but she had yet to work a full day there since the day Ted had murdered Darcy right in front of her before kidnapping her and putting her through hell. Both her uncle as well as the Dukes knew that she was still healing and it would be a while before she would be able to go about her daily life without being constantly reminded of that terrible day.

The small group had just sat down to dinner as the phone rang with Jesse on the other end of the line. He was calling to let the rest of the family know that Jebb and Kira had just left out to head to the hospital. He also told his nephews and their wives that the night was bound to be a long night for the couple at the hospital and that if the baby was born tonight it would be very late though he doubted that she would come until sometime the next day. There was no reason to rush off just yet.

After eating their dinner, the men decided to continue with their plans to head to the bar. By doing so, they could both check on Daisy as well as share the latest news with her.

~01~

Daisy waddled among the same tables that she'd once practically danced between as she delivered orders. With today being the first of August, she was thirty-seven weeks pregnant and more than ready for the end of the month to come so that she could finally get to see her little boy. That is if he didn't decide to come sooner. Daisy eyed her watch and saw that she had been fighting the cramping for about twenty minutes when she saw Bo and Luke come in for their usual beers after their mornings out in the fields checking on the corn that they would begin to harvest very shortly. Daisy planted on a smile and put a couple of beers on her tray and headed over to their table.

"Hey, fellas. Ya'll got here a little late today, didn't ya?" Daisy set the mugs down on the table and bit back a groan as she did so. It was not missed by her oldest cousin, though.

"Daisy? Are you alright?"

"Of course, Luke. The baby's just a little active today, is all."

"Speakin' of babies, guess who's in labor at the hospital?" Bo butted in while the eldest Duke continued to watch his female cousin.

"Kira?"

Bo nodded, "Uncle Jesse said that she'll likely not deliver tonight, though. Said that there was no need for us all to rush on out just yet. Not to mention, Kira isn't one to want her room to be full of folks while she's givin' birth."

"You're probably right," Daisy sighed as she thought about her younger cousin.

"Daisy, are you sure you're alright. You look a bit pale. Why don't you sit down for a few minutes."

Daisy tried to wave her kin off as he gave her his seat. "Luke, I've got to get back to the bar. The new waitress didn't show up today and this place is busier than Hell on Judgment Day."

"You need a break." Luke began to look around and saw that Daisy was indeed right; there were no other waitresses in sight. He grumbled under his breath about how J.D. should have known better than to expect a pregnant woman to manage this crowd on her own. "When do you get off?"

"It's supposed to be in another two hours but seeing as how Stacy didn't show up-" Daisy was cut off as she once more bit back another groan.

"Daisy, I think I'll go ahead and tell Boss that you're leavin', now." Bo got up and headed toward the office that the man usually could be found in out here at the roadhouse.

"Bo, you don't have to do that," Daisy went to stand back up only to be stopped by Luke putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes, he does," Luke insisted.

"If I go there won't be anyone else comin' in to work for at least another hour," Daisy pointed out as she tried to not show just how much discomfort she was in.

"Then folks'll just have to get their own drinks for a while. Come on. You're gettin' out of here." Luke saw Bo coming out of J.D. Hogg's office with the irate portly man in white just behind him.

Daisy leaned forward in the hard wooden chair while trying to relieve some of the pressure that was pushing down in her hips without gaining any reprieve from the ever-increasing discomfort that she was in.

"Daisy, what are you doin' sittin' right in the middle of a busy night like tonight?" J.D. took a puff on his cigar and let the ashes fall to the floor as he spoke.

"Can't you see that Daisy's not feelin' well?" Luke scowled at the older man.

"Now don't be usin' that pregnancy bit on me as a way to leave out early. Daisy is on the clock until nine o'clock and that's-" J.D. was interrupted by a gasp that Daisy let out just before groaning. "What? What'd I say?"

"Days?" Bo held out an arm to keep her boss back as he waited for Daisy to tell the rest of them what had caused her to holler out. Around them, some of the other patrons of the bar were becoming curious about the scene being played out in front of them between the Dukes and the former commissioner of the county.

"I think… I think I'm…" Daisy was glad for Luke's support right now since she could barely feel her legs under her right now. "I'm in labor."

"Daisy? Are you sure this time?" Bo knew first hand that Daisy had been mistaken at least twice about going into labor already.

"I'm sure," Daisy croaked out just as she was sure that her insides were about to be ripped out by a strong contraction. "My water just broke."

The three men glanced down and saw the telltale sign that told them the truth of Daisy's declaration.

"Boss, call Jesse and tell him that we're on our way home with Daisy. Tell him to have everything ready; looks like there'll be another baby here before we know it."

"No, Luke. My house. I want to go home. Have him meet us there."

"Days, he's got the boys over at Jebb and Kira's-"

"Then have Kim meet us instead. I'm going to give birth to my son in my own home." Daisy's face set in a manner that told Luke that there was no arguing with her so he nodded and motioned for Bo to help him steady their cousin. Luke picked Daisy up and carried her out to her Jeep with Bo close behind.

~01~

Kira relaxed after yet another contraction. She couldn't believe that she'd already been at the hospital for over four hours and she wasn't any closer to delivering than when she'd first left her house. The last time a nurse had come in to check her blood pressure, Kira was given the news that she likely had a long night of waiting before she'd actually get to meet her daughter.

She was beginning to regret her decision to come on to the hospital since she could have been much more comfortable at home. She had thought that if she came to the hospital earlier that she'd be given some medicine to help with the pain to help her with the contractions. Instead, she was informed that the doctors didn't want to slow the progression of her labor so the pain medicines would have to wait.

Looking up, Kira saw Jebb returning to the room after calling home to check on their sons. She hoped that they weren't giving Jesse a hard time about going to bed without their parents at home but there wasn't really anything that she could do to help now.

"Jesse have the kids asleep, yet?"

"Nope. Jesse isn't home with them and you'll never guess why," Jebb chuckled.

"He's not? Why? Who is keepin' the kids?"

"Jo and Luke are watchin' them because Jesse had to go over and help with Daisy."

"What's wrong with Daisy?" Kira sat up a bit as she asked about her cousin.

"Nothin's wrong with her. We are just going to have a bit of a race on our hands and see which one of you gives birth first." Jebb grinned before he added, "I bet Luke that you'd be first with no less than an hour before Daisy follows you."

"Daisy's in labor, too? And you and Luke are placing bets?"

"It's not like we'll be the only ones in the county doin' it," Jebb said with a shrug.

Kira groaned as she fell back against her pillow. "You men can turn anything into a competition."

Still, a competitive streak in Kira did add to her wanting to get the show on the road. She was tired and hungry and ready to no longer be pregnant.


	34. Chapter 34

Kim put a hand on Jesse's shoulder as she placed a bowl of fresh water with a rag to mop Daisy's brow on the side table next to the bed. The older man was tired and she knew that he needed rest.

"Why don't you go to the living room and rest? Bo's already asleep. I'll watch over Daisy."

Daisy was already exhausted and was lightly dozing between contractions. Jesse glanced down at his niece and knew that she still likely had hours to go before she gave birth since this was her first child so he nodded before leaving the two women in the small bedroom alone together.

Kim took Jesse's place in the small chair next to the bed that had been brought in from the kitchen. She picked up her book and read a couple of pages before putting it down as Daisy began to stir once more due to the contractions. Kim mopped the other woman's brow while whispering words of encouragement to her.

As the contraction eased up Daisy breathed heavily as she relaxed against her pillows once more. Somehow she had begun to believe that she'd have as easy of a time giving birth as Jo had. After all, the first half of her labor pains had come and gone practically without the other woman even noticing. Then of course the second half had gone very quickly as well. She had given birth in one of the old Indian caves on the outskirts of town while the rest of the town was sorting out after the big tornado last fall. Already, it was after midnight and Daisy just wanted to be done.

As Daisy felt the last bit of the pains pass, she looked over at Kim. She smiled knowing that Jesse couldn't have been gone long. Her uncle had been by her side nearly since the moment that Bo and Luke had brought her home after going into labor out at the Boar's Nest. It was hard to believe that was only six hours ago. It felt like a lifetime already.

"Here, you don't want to get dehydrated," Kim said as she offered Daisy some water.

Daisy took a sip before thanking the other woman. She then asked if there was any word on Kira since she, too, was in the same condition as she was.

"Not yet. The last that Jebb called, she was only at about six centimeters. Of course that was a couple of hours ago. Speaking of which, I'm going to check to see how much you've progressed, too."

Daisy nodded and tried to relax. As she did so she was struck by a thought.

"It's been a long time."

"What?" Kim looked up and asked, "What's been a long time? You've only been in labor a few hours."

"That's not what I meant. It's been a long time since we've been alone together. I was beginning to think that you were avoiding me."

"I don't know what you are talking about. I haven't been avoiding you. We see each other nearly every day."

"True, but always with the rest of the family around. We haven't been out to lunch or gone shopping together, or anything. Not since May."

Kim lowered her eyes to hide the truth from Daisy. It was true, she had been avoiding Daisy. She felt so guilty that she was the reason that her child would never get to meet his father.

"Kim, talk to me. What's been going on?" Daisy sat up and forced Kim to look at her. Finally the younger woman met her eyes and Daisy could see tears welling up in them. "Kim?"

"It should have been me, not Darcy. I'm sorry. I haven't talked to you about it since the funeral but I'm so sorry."

"Oh, honey." Daisy pulled Kim put to sit beside her on the bed and hugged her tightly. "You didn't do anything. What Ted did, to both of us, it wasn't your fault."

"If Darcy hadn't been in my office that day, if Ted hadn't come looking for me-"

"I sent him to town because I wanted a silly milkshake. You didn't have control over any of those ifs that led Darcy to the office that day. Ted was a bastard; plain and simple. As for Darcy, he spent his last moments trying to make me happy. Planning a surprise party for me. I'm sure that if he had to choose one thing to be his last act, he wouldn't have changed a thing. And now I have a wonderful memory of him, knowing that he was always trying to put me first. Don't take that away from me by trying to take the blame for everything that happened that day."

Kim wiped her eyes and returned Daisy's hug with a squeeze. "I'm sor-"

"Don't say that you're sorry. I just told you, there's no need. Besides, if you really want to help me, I'm going to need some help with this little man coming. I don't want to raise him alone."

Kim smiled and took Daisy's hand. "In this family, I don't see that happening; ever."

Daisy's grip tightened on Kim's hand as a stronger contraction hit her. She screamed and moaned through it while she did her best to not bare down despite the fact that everything in her wanted to do just that.

"It won't be much longer, Daisy. You are up to eight centimeters now. Just two more to go and you'll be holding your baby boy in your arms."

~01~

Kira eyed the nurse as she took her blood pressure once more. She had been in labor for more than twelve hours already and she was exhausted. Looking over at Jebb sound asleep in the chair, Kira wished that she could have drifted off during the night, too. But between the contractions and the nurses' frequent visits throughout the night, any thought of sleep had been only a distant dream. Still, she couldn't really begrudge Jebb his sleep. He'd worked out in the fields all day the day before and then wrangled their twins in the afternoon. He then stayed up with her for most of the night.

Kira watched as he slept until her next contraction. As it eased up she saw Doc Appleby walking into the room and reading her chart. After giving her a moment to recover, he asked her how she felt. Kira gave him a dirty look since she felt he should know damn well how she was feeling right now.

"Can't we just bypass all this? You know, dope me up and wake me when it's all over?"

Irving chuckled as he stepped forward and started to examine his patient. "It may still come to that but if we can get this baby delivered naturally, it'd be better for both of you. Let's see where we are so far."

Kira leaned back as she was told to and relaxed as the doctor checked her. As the doctor finished she asked, "Well?"

"I'm afraid you're still at seven centimeters. I'll come and check you again in a few hours."

Kira groaned loudly in response. "Before you go, is there any chance that I can get something to eat? I left the house without eating my dinner and I'm starved."

Irving hesitated before answering. Generally, eating during labor was frowned upon since it could cause problems if there is an emergency. A person with food in their digestive system can aspirate if they are put under general anesthesia. For many of his patients, Doc Appleby wouldn't be that concerned about the possibility of issues during delivery. With Kira's history, he hadn't ruled them out just yet. Already, the labor had begun to affect her blood pressure and it was higher than he'd like. Still, Irving knew that Kira would exhaust herself much faster if she didn't have some sort of nourishment in her.

"I'll have some broth sent up," Irving said as he held up a hand at the protest that he was sure to follow. "Only broth. Nothing heavy. That or Jello, nothing else. I'll be back in about an hour to see how you're doing. Maybe by then, I'll be able to share an update on your cousin, Daisy."

Kira nodded in acceptance since at least she'd get something to quell the hunger pains. And to be honest, she probably wouldn't be able to hold anything heavier down, anyway.

"Thanks, Doc."

Twenty minutes later, Jebb began to stir in the chair next to Kira's bed. "Mornin', Sleepin' Beauty."

Jebb looked around to get his bearings before asking, "How long was I out?"

"About three hours. Don't worry, you didn't miss anything."

"Has the doc been in, yet?"

"About twenty minutes ago. He said that I'm still at seven centimeters so it'll still be a while before we'll have a baby to show for all of this."

"Weren't you at a seven last night?"

"Don't remind me." There was a knock at the door with an orderly with a food tray so Kira adjusted her bed so that she could sit up a bit more. As she accepted her tray she added, "I told you that it took the boys nearly three days to come."

"Yeh, well, I've blocked out most of what happened during those three days," Jebb said with a soured tone.

"You're not the only one. Believe me, you're not the only one."

~01~

Jesse blinked his eyes as he sat up on the couch in his niece's house. It clearly wasn't meant to be used as a bed. He stretched and heard his joints pop as he went to stand up. He looked at his watch and saw that he'd slept longer than he had planned. He'd hoped to relieve Kim more than an hour ago.

After glancing over at his nephew who was still sound asleep in an equally uncomfortable chair, Jesse chuckled as he headed toward the hall that led to Daisy's room. As he reached the door and began to knock to announce himself, he heard a small cry as another member of the family did the same thing. He was letting the world know that he was here and ready to face the day just as the sun was coming up in the eastern sky.

Jesse opened the door and found Kim cleaning the baby up before handing him to his mother. He went over to sit beside his niece and gave her a kiss on the top of the head before doing the same thing to her little boy.

"Well, I was going to apologize for sleeping in but it looks like I just made it in time to greet this little fella into the world."

"You were sleeping so good, I didn't want to disturb you," Kim smiled as she sat back down in the chair next to the bed. Daisy wasn't quite finished yet but she wanted to give her a small break before passing the afterbirth.

"I don't know if I'd call it a good sleep or not. But I'm not as young as I used to be."

"None of us are, Uncle Jesse," Daisy grinned as she hugged her baby to her.

"So, does this little fella have a name?"

"I've named him after his father; Darcy James Kincaid II. I'm goin' to call him Jimmy."

"Nice to meet you, Jimmy." Jesse ran a finger along the newborn's jaw as he yawned. He smiled back at the baby. Being born was hard work; for him and his mother. Jesse could see that she was tired but she wasn't quite done yet.

Looking up at Kim, Jesse nodded as he reached to take the baby from his niece. As soon as Daisy passed the afterbirth and Kim got the bed linens changed, he knew that she would be more than ready for sleep. Jesse left the room and put the infant down in his crib just across the hallway knowing that mother and son would both be asleep in no time at all. He then headed to the kitchen and scrounged up some breakfast for himself, Bo and Kim.

~01~

Luke finished the morning chores as he watched the twins play around in the small farmyard. Mikey was throwing some chicken feed in the general direction of some hens while Jay sat on the porch and watched his brother. He'd brought a toy car outside with him but looked too sleepy to really play with it. Luke was sure that if it wasn't for the heat that was already causing the little boy to sweat he would still be in bed.

After going inside to wash up, Luke found Jo in the kitchen with Faith trying to get her to eat her breakfast of mashed bananas.

"Still not eating?"

"I think she has another tooth coming in. Jesse told me to not worry if she won't eat. She won't starve herself. It still doesn't make it any easier when I know she has to be hungry." Jo leaned back in her chair as she gave up in trying to get her daughter to take the spoon full of food.

"Trust Uncle Jesse. He's raised enough of us to know what works and what doesn't. Maybe if we froze a banana for her. The coolness of it might feel good on her gums and, in this dag-blum heat, she might be more willing to take it."

"I'll put one in the freezer in just a minute. Oh, you missed Bo callin' while you were out in the barn. Daisy gave birth right around sunrise." Jo smiled at the declaration.

"She did? Any word on Kira?"

"Not yet. Why?"

Luke chuckled as he winked before saying, "Looks like Jebb owes me fifty bucks."

Jo snickered as she let Faith out of her high chair to crawl around on the floor. "Well, the odds had been in his favor. Usually it takes longer for first time mothers."

"It didn't take you very long," Luke pointed out.

"I said usually." Jo shrugged. "I was just lucky."

"Fortunately." Luke glanced out the window and watched as the two toddlers found a bit of shade and sat in the morning breeze to play with their toy cars. Twice already they'd asked when their parents would come home. He didn't really have an answer for them so he told them that they'd come home as soon as they have a new baby sister.

Luke did know that John and Pauline should be coming in to help with the toddlers this afternoon. Once out at the farm, Luke knew that Pauline would take full charge as she usually does. But he also knew that she'd be walking on cloud nine just as soon as she meets her brand new granddaughter. She had taken charge of the care of the boys when they had been transported to Atlanta back when they were first born. If that was any indication, Luke was sure that she'd do the same thing while Kira and her daughter were at Tri-county Hospital. Maybe he should call and warn the nursing staff before she arrives.

~01~

Kira waited as the doctor checked once more on her progression, or lack thereof, before watching him mark something down in her chart.

"Well?"

Irving bit back a chuckle since he wouldn't expect her to act any other way. "I'm going to have the nurse bring something in to help speed up your labor just a bit. If I haven't seen any change within the next couple of hours, I'll go ahead and have you sent upstairs to prepare you for a cesarean."

"Something wrong?" Jebb sat on the bed next to his wife and took her hand in his as he spoke.

"Just being cautious." Irving smiled to hide the worry on his face. "I'll send the nurse on in and I'll be back later."

Jebb then spent the next hour sitting next to his wife as she endured contraction after contraction. He hated that there wasn't anything that he could do to help her. He wasn't sure if the medicine that the doctor had ordered to be put in Kira's IV had helped speed up her labor or not but by the sound of it, she certainly seemed to be in more pain. Throughout it all, the most that he could do was to wipe Kira's brow as she dripped sweat from her efforts.

When a cup of broth was delivered for Kira's lunch, she encouraged Jebb to leave her so that he could go to the cafeteria to get him something to eat. After all, he'd barely had anything the night before and he'd skipped breakfast earlier in the day. She was still trying to talk him into getting himself some lunch when his parents knocked on Kira's hospital room door to announce themselves.

"Mom, Pop; I didn't think you'd get here this soon." Jebb hugged both of his parents before offering the lone chair in the room to his mother. "I figured you'd go out to the farm first."

"We did. We went to see Daisy and her little boy before dropping Emma and Emily off with Luke and Jo to help with Mikey and Jay." John then addressed his niece, "How are you doin'?"

"You really want me to answer that?" Kira braced for yet another contraction as she spoke.

The conversation in the room paused as Kira endured and recovered from the contraction. Once the worst was over, Pauline asked if there was anything that they could do to make things easier for her.

"Yes. Get Jebb out of here. He hasn't eaten since last night. He won't listen to me so see if you can get him to head down to the cafeteria for the next half hour."

Jebb gave Kira a dirty look since he knew that there was no way that his parents wouldn't get him out of the room now, even for a brief time. In response, Kira gave him a wicked grin. If there was one thing that could put a smile on her face it was siccing his parents on him for one reason or another. He gave a sigh since he knew that before Kira's next contraction he'd be down the hall on his way to scarf down whatever was available for a lunch in the cafeteria in the hospital.


	35. Chapter 35

Kira wished that Pauline had gone with Jebb and John but she had insisted that she'd stay behind while the men were gone to keep her company. After a contraction passed, Pauline handed her niece her cup of broth to see to it that she kept up her strength. After all, she was the one doing all of the work in bringing the next Duke into the world.

"Has the doctor come in lately?"

Kira nodded as she put her cup back down the rolling table that was at her bedside. "He came a little over an hour ago. Said that if I haven't started showing a bit more progress by the time he comes back then he'll likely go ahead and schedule me for a cesarean. Of course he could have done that already. It sure would have saved me a lot of time, not to mention pain."

"Well, either way, it won't be long before all of this will be nothing but a memory." Pauline could sympathize with her niece in her desire to have her labor over and done with. After all, she's been through it three separate times; and the last time she hadn't exactly been a young woman any longer. Still, she wouldn't have changed anything. "When you look back on today, the only thing you'll remember will be your first glimpse of your daughter."

"Somehow I doubt that." Kira rolled her eyes as she spoke. She'd heard so many women telling her how you forget the pain of childbirth. Every time someone told her that she wanted to tell them just how full of it they were. After all, she'd never forgotten the pain she'd been in with the boys while she was locked away in the root cellar after she was kidnapped.

Kira shifted on the bed while trying to find some position that was comfortable before she glanced at her mother-in-law. Her relationship with the woman had never been that great; from the moment that they'd met they've butted heads on nearly every subject under the sun. They've gone through periods of truces just as they've had times where it almost felt as if they were at all out war. Their last truce had been initiated during her visit over Easter after Kira had gone into premature labor. It was during that visit that Kira learned that they were both members of a club that no one wants to be in. Both of them had been molested as children. For Pauline, Kira thought that it had probably been worse in some ways since she had known her attacker and had been forced to be cordial with him while hiding that terrible secret until the day he died.

After the two learned about the other's hidden childhood secrets, they both began to understand the other a bit better. Each woman had begun to think differently about the other after that visit. And despite the fact that Kira knew that Pauline wanted to dislike her, she didn't really. She supposed that it was good since Kira would likely need her help from time to time as the boys,and now her and Jebb's daughter, grew.

"Pauline, I want to ask you something."

"About what?"

"Boys and girls. Which are easier," Kira asked since she'd been wondering that same question since she'd first learned that she was having a daughter. "I mean, the boys can be handfuls at times but I've learned what to expect from them. I don't have a clue what to do with a little girl."

"Three years ago, you didn't know what you'd do with a set of twin boys, either. You learned, though," Pauline pointed out. "To answer your question, there's not a real easy answer. Some things are easier with boys and others with girls. And both learn to push their parents' buttons and enjoy it."

Pauline smiled as she thought about each of her children. She and Karen had always been the closest even if there had been a couple of years when she had been a teenager when Karen had tested her beyond her limits. Still, at the end of those rebellious years, she and her oldest had ended up closer than ever. Jebb, however, had always been her heart. Her twins, they had helped her stay young. In a way, raising them had been easier since she knew so much more about children by the time they'd come along.

"Every child is different. Just look at the boys. Could two boys be less alike? But you've managed with them just fine. The same will be with your little girl," Pauline assured her daughter-in-law. "In no time at all you'll look back and wonder how your family ever felt complete without her."

Kira nodded. She just needed to hear someone say that they thought that she could do this; be a mother to a little girl. "Thanks."

She would have liked to continue the touching moment with the older Duke Woman but her system was rocked by yet another birthing pain.

Pauline gave Kira her hand to squeeze as the room filled with her niece's scream. She looked up at the clock and saw that it had only been about four minutes since her last one. Pauline did her best to encourage her niece as she endured the pain. When Kira's scream ended sooner than expected, Pauline wiped her brow as she spoke.

"There, it wasn't that bad this time, was it?" Pauline waited for Kira to make a remark in return and was surprised when it didn't come. "Kira?"

When Pauline looked back to her niece, she saw an odd expression frozen on her face. Pauline squeezed Kira's hand to try to get her attention. Kira didn't respond.

A nurse came in hurriedly and checked Kira's vitals before pushing a button on the wall. She then shoved the bedside table away from the bed. The cup tipped over and the broth that Kira had been drinking spilled to the floor. The nurse yanked the pillow out from behind her patient's head and tossed it across the room before she pulled a release behind the back of Kira's bed to cause it to drop down and back. By the time Kira was completely flat on her back, the room began to fill with nursing staff. Pauline backed away from the bed to give them room to work and ended up near the bathroom since her way out into the hallway was blocked. She watched as compressions were started while one of the nurses used a device to give Kira breaths for what felt like forever.

A doctor whom Pauline couldn't remember the name of came in and began to give instructions to the staff. "Page Appleby, tell him what's going on. And call upstairs and have a team standing by. We've got to get this baby out now."

The doctor injected some sort of medicine in Kira's IV and had the nurses check her vitals once more. When the nurse gave a negative response to an unanswered question the efforts to revive Kira continued. After a gurney was rolled into the room, the staff worked seamlessly to move her from the bed over onto it. Pauline then watched as one of the nurses climbed up on top to continue compressions as the gurney was wheeled toward the hall. The whole team then raced Kira out of the room. Pauline followed them out and stood by the door to the room as they ran down the hall with a nursing assistant running ahead, closing the doors of other patient rooms to keep them from seeing the pregnant woman coding and asking those in the hallway to stand aside to let the team through.

Pauline dropped to the floor as the gurney turned the corner and disappeared from sight. Tears had already begun to stream down her face sometime during the scene inside the room and now they fell to the ground.

"Don't do this, Kira. You can't do this to Jebb. He and the boys need you."

Behind her, Pauline heard her son and husband coming down the hall. As they saw her each hollered out for her.

"Mom!"

"Pauline!" John knelt beside his wife as he reached her as Jebb continued toward the door and looked inside Kira's room. It appeared to be a shambles and the young woman was no where to be seen. "What happened?"

"Mom, where's Kira?" Jebb turned back to his mother with panic on his face.

"She... After a contraction she just stopped... They came in... They tried to..." Pauline could barely talk as her breath hitched as she continued to cry.

Jebb felt his own knees buckle. He swallowed hard as he knelt beside his parents. His father reached over and put a hand on his shoulder as the three remained on the floor of the hospital for several moments together. They didn't move until they heard the phone in Kira's room ring.

~01~

Bo had wished that Kim would have taken a longer nap after the night she'd had with Daisy but he understood that she didn't want to sleep the entire day away. Not with the whole family still waiting for word on Kira's impending delivery as well. At least he had been able to convince her that between the attending physician and her uncle, Irving, Kim didn't really need to feel the need to go to the hospital to watch over her sister-in-law.

The two joined the rest of the family, minus Jesse and Daisy, over at Luke's for lunch. Jebb's sisters had been left at the farm with the eldest Duke Cousin and they were chasing after the two young toddlers as they giggled from one end of the farmyard to the other.

Joining in their laughter was Faith's giggles as she watched on in delight. She held on to her frozen banana and slobbered on it on the porch while sitting next to her father. The frozen treat had been just what she'd needed to help with not only the heat but the pain of a new tooth pushing through her tender gums.

Bo joined his cousin on the porch and handed Luke a spit rag that Jo had given him on his way out of the house. The doting father dabbed his daughter's chin while she tried to push the cloth away.

"She hates it when you do that," Bo said while stating the obvious. He still couldn't get over seeing his cousin fawning over his little girl as if he was born to be a father.

"You think?" Luke gave his younger cousin a look but returned his attention to his little girl. He was glad that he and Jo had finally found something that helped with Faith's teething. The pain during the oppressive heat had been a terrible combination that had left the infant in a crabby mood for the last few days. Seeing her grinning while gnawing on the frozen banana was a great sight after so many days of not finding anything to help.

Sitting out on the porch, both men enjoyed what little bit of a breeze there was blowing through the trees. The two chatted about not much of anything as they watched the children while the women were cleaning up after lunch. Once they were done, Luke and Bo stood to get ready to take care of the midday farm chores. As they headed toward the barn Bo reached out to steady himself as he was overcome by a strange feeling. The moment he did, Luke stopped dead in his tracks and asked his cousin what was wrong.

Bo couldn't put into words what was going on. He felt a pain but then he didn't. Then it was as if a part of himself was just gone, missing. At first he couldn't remember feeling that empty feeling ever before. Then he remembered that he had. Back when his sister had coded while she had been on the operating table when the boys were born.

"Kira." Bo's declaration was enough to increase the concern on Luke's face. The two returned to the house with Bo in the lead. He went straight to the phone and dialed the number for his sister's hospital room. The phone seemed to ring forever before he finally heard his uncle's voice answer the line. Bo didn't even bother with any of the usual pleasantries used while on the phone. "What's wrong with Kira?"

John paused a moment before he told his wife and son to wait for him in the hospital's chapel. The very mention of the chapel made Bo's blood run cold. They'd only be going there if something was wrong with Kira or the baby. When John returned his attention to his nephew on the line Bo could hear the strain in his voice.

_"I don't know. Not really. Jebb and I were down in the cafeteria. When we got back we found that Kira had been rushed out of her room. Pauline indicated that she might have..."_ John let out a haggard breath. He didn't want to say too much out loud in fear that it would create a reality that no one in the family wanted. _"She wasn't breathing and the doctor and nurses were working hard to help her."_

Bo felt as if he'd just been punched in the gut. He looked up and saw that his cousin and the Duke Women had all gathered around him as he spoke on the phone.

_"I'm going to join Jebb and Pauline in the chapel. The only thing any of us can do is pray. Both for Kira and the baby."_

A lump had formed in Bo's throat and it took in three tries to acknowledge his uncle's instructions. He then hung up to let John follow his wife and son. Bo then turned to face his family with the latest word on his sister's condition.

~01~

When John made his way to the small hospital chapel he found his wife and son both kneeling together at the altar in the front of the room. He wasn't sure just who was holding on to whom since they both appeared to be equally shaken. John knelt beside them and joined them as they prayed together as a family while knowing that they would not be the only ones sending up prayers to the God of heaven on behalf of the two female Dukes up in surgery right now; one of whom had yet to even take her first breath while he hoped that the other had yet to take her last.

While in the sanctuary it felt as if time had stood still. It had no meaning at all. There were no clocks in the dim room to distract those who had come to pray on behalf of their kin. Finally, the three heard a slight cough coming from the door to get their attention.

Irving stood at the entrance to the chapel where he had known he'd find the family. He'd just come from meeting with the doctor who had headed up the team that had worked on reviving Kira for more than twenty minutes while doing their best to save the baby as well. He had known that the labor had been putting a strain on the woman and had already come to the conclusion that she would need a cesarean to deliver the baby. He just hadn't expected for his patient to go into cardiac arrest before he could return to the hospital. Now he wished that he'd planned for the procedure much earlier.

"Doc," Jebb tried to read the man's face from where he sat between his parents. Unfortunately, all he could see there was sadness and regret. "Tell me that they're alright."

Irving forced a smile on his face as he replied, "Well, I am pleased to tell you that you have a healthy little girl. She weighs eight pounds and fourteen ounces. She's in the nursery right now if you want to go meet your daughter."

"She's alright?" Jebb allowed himself a small sigh of relief.

"A little sleepy at the moment but perfectly healthy." Irving didn't say that the reason for the newborn's sleepiness was a byproduct of the medication that had been given to Kira. Fortunately, the baby had been delivered before much of it could get into her system. "You can go see her, now."

With that weight off his shoulders, Jebb braced himself before asking, "What about Kira?"

"She's being moved down to the Intensive Care Unit. For now, we'll just have to wait and see."

"But she's still alive?" Jebb heard his own voice crack as he asked for the doctor to confirm that much for him.

"Yes. For now, just hold on to that."


	36. Chapter 36

Jebb sat in the nursery and looked down at his newborn daughter wrapped in a pink blanket. To him, she looked absolutely perfect. She even had been born with a full head of coppery hair just like her mother. As he held her while sitting in the rocking chair in the nursery, Jebb's thoughts went to Kira. He hadn't seen her yet since she was still getting settled into her room when Doc Appleby had found him and his parents in the chapel. He wanted to know if Kira would be alright but it was clear that even the doctor didn't know the answer to that question.

Jebb continued to rock his daughter alone in the small corner of the nursery that the nurses had led him to so that he'd have some privacy with her. His parents said that they'd wait on word about Kira and let him know when he could go visit his wife. They would also call home and share what news they had with the rest of the family; both the good and the bad.

By the time his mother had returned to the nursery Jebb had fed a bottle to his daughter and she needed her first diaper change. Pauline held out a small bag that she'd retrieved from her car and told Jebb that he may want what she had brought with her. Jebb reached in and pulled out a new outfit for his daughter along with a baby blanket that matched the lavender on the walls of the nursery back at the farmhouse.

"I thought that when Kira wakes up she'd like to see this little girl in something a little less pink." Pauline gave her son a smile to assure him that his wife would wake up.

Jebb nodded. Yes, the hospital issued outfit wouldn't be to Kira's liking at all. He changed the baby and did his best to swaddle her but he could admit that he was out of practice.

"Does she have a name yet?" Pauline wanted to hold her granddaughter but she understood that her son needed to take care of the infant for himself for right now.

"Yes. Kira and I picked one out weeks ago." Jebb cuddled his daughter as she settled back down to sleep now that she had a full stomach. He sat back down in the rocking chair as he spoke.

"You want to share it?" Pauline stepped forward and ran her fingers through the fine hair on the baby.

"Kira wanted to be the one to tell everyone her name. I plan to let her." Jebb closed his eyes said a silent prayer that his wife would indeed get to enjoy her moment of telling the family the name of the latest Duke.

Pauline pulled up a chair and sat down next to her son as she watched him take comfort in his little girl. The entire family had been concerned for the infant's well being from the moment that Kira's pregnancy had first been known. That concern had only heightened after the incident back at Easter. Now after so many months he could see that she was completely healthy. If only the same could be said for her mother.

~01~

The next morning, Daisy and Jesse ate breakfast together in the small house at the edge of the county. Jimmy was asleep so Daisy enjoyed being able to sit at the kitchen table while she watched Jesse fry up some bacon and eggs. He had told her that she could stay in bed but she insisted that she could manage going to her own table for breakfast. After all, the day after Jo gave birth she was out with the rest of the Duke Women preparing for Kim's wedding. Daisy was sure that she could handle walking down the hall. Besides, it was one of the perks of being able to give birth at home. Being able to sleep in her own bed; being surrounded by her own things. Something that she was painfully aware that her cousin hadn't been able to do.

"Is there any word on Kira yet?"

Jesse put a glass of milk on the table as he shook his head. "It's still too early in the morning. I suspect that Jebb probably didn't drift off until sometime this mornin'. John told me that he'd call once the doctor came in to check on her this mornin'."

John had stayed at the hospital with Jebb and had insisted that Pauline should go home to be with their daughters and grandsons. They would swap off in the morning. Jesse wanted to go to the hospital to be with his nephew as well but he was aware that he was needed here with Daisy. She may have had a relatively easy delivery and had been blessed with good health for both herself as well as her son but he didn't want to abandon her when there was really nothing that he could do to help elsewhere.

He was also aware of the fact that while Bo would be just as worried for his sister, he had both Luke and Kim to comfort him. No, Jesse's place was with Daisy.

Daisy took a sip of her milk and glanced around her small kitchen. She had been so determined to stay in the home that she and Darcy had made together until after her son was born. Now that he was here, she felt that she could leave it. The truth was, the house felt too empty without Darcy; she wanted to go home. She wanted to return to the farm where she'd be surrounded by her family and memories of her own childhood.

As Jesse dished out her breakfast, Daisy broached the subject. As she told her uncle of her desire to return to the farm his face lit up in a way that she hadn't seen in a long time. Truth be told, he was lonely in the new farmhouse all alone. All of his kids had married and moved out and he had far too much time on his hands when everyone else returned to their own homes for the day. After hearing Daisy's confession he immediately started making plans to help her return to where he felt she belonged.

"I'll have the girls come help you pack your clothes," Jesse said referring to Jo and Kim. "Then the boys can haul everything home. We have plenty of room to put everything and-"

"Jesse, we don't have to do anything just yet."

"Nonsense. There is no reason to put it off. Not to mention, this project is just the thing we need to keep our minds off what is going on at the hospital." Jesse knew that the best thing in the world for everyone out at the farm for the moment would be to give them something else to focus on. "I'll call home and tell everyone the plan after breakfast."

Daisy returned Jesse's smile. She felt so glad that she could put a smile on his face with all that was going on in the family. With the enthusiasm that she saw in Jesse's eyes she had no doubt that her belongings would all be at the new farmhouse by sundown.

~01~

Jebb stirred as a nurse came in to check on his wife. He still flinched at the sight of the tubes and wires that were keeping her alive. With every blip on the screen that indicated a heartbeat or breath Jebb was reminded that this entire situation was his fault. Almost a year ago he had a mishap on his motorcycle and had been too damn stubborn to go get checked out by one of the doctors in town.

If he hadn't held to his guns, he would have learned that his vasectomy had been reversed by the blow that he'd taken to his groin. A vasectomy that he'd gotten when he'd learned that another pregnancy could very well kill Kira. He'd thought that he was doing the noble thing when he'd asked the doctor about alternative methods to ensure that Kira wouldn't have to worry about pregnancy again. That nobility had gone right out of the window when he neglected to remember that his actions later on could, and have, affected her since.

Across the room Jebb saw that his father was still asleep in a chair that had been brought in so that he could keep watch alongside his son. Having him there both calmed and unnerved him. He knew that his father likely had expected for Jebb to be given bad news overnight and had wanted to be there for him if that had happened. Otherwise he would have gone home with his mother last night.

Jebb sat up a bit more in his own chair and watched as both his wife and father slept. Outside the room he knew that the nurses were doing all that they could to treat the various patients of this ward. All of whom were in critical condition. It may not be very Duke-like but at the moment he didn't give a damn about anyone else in the ward; only his wife. In fact, he had to fight the selfish feeling that had him wondering if the care of his wife was being hampered by the fact that she didn't have the nurses' and doctors' sole attention.

Hours later, Doc Appleby came in to speak with Jebb about both his wife and daughter. Kira had yet to awaken which was troublesome but the young newborn was healthy enough that she could be released to go home later that day.

"Home? Now?" Jebb had been focused on the fact that his wife was hanging onto life by a thread. He hadn't even begun to think past the current situation. How could he be expected to take their daughter home while leaving her behind at the hospital? "But Kira?"

"Kira is stable for now. As for your little girl, I suppose one more day in the nursery wouldn't hurt but I really would suggest taking her home."

"I know that you want to remain here with Kira but you have three children to take care of," John pointed out. "Mikey and Jay have been asking about both of you. At least go home and spend a little time with them today. It would do you good to get out of the hospital for a little while."

"It was supposed to do me good to get out of the room and down to the cafeteria yesterday to get me something to eat. And look at how that turned out," Jebb said with a sour note.

John sighed. He really did understand his son's position. He knew that his son would stand his ground for now. He just hoped that his niece would wake up soon because he doubted that Jebb would be leaving the hospital until she did.

~01~

Pauline cleaned up the dishes after making sure that the boys, as well as her daughters, ate their breakfast. She then asked the girls to help with some of the chores around the farm and sent the boys to play out on the porch with their new toy trucks that she and John had brought them when they came to Hazzard. Once she was finished, Pauline joined the toddlers and sat on the porch swing. Despite the early hour she could tell that the day promised to be just as hot as the day before.

While she sat and fanned herself Jay exchanged a look with his brother before he got up and climbed onto the swing with his grandmother.

"Why Mumma and Dud not home?"

The question took Pauline by surprise. She guessed she expected the boys to remain oblivious to the absence of their parents. As she tried to find something to tell the small blond little boy his twin joined them on the swing. She had two pairs of eyes that reminded her so much of Jebb when he was that age watching her as they waited for her to answer. Pauline decided on a simple truth and hoped that it would be enough.

"Your momma is still at the hospital with your new little sister."

"Where Dud?"

"He's with her," Pauline said simply. She then watched as the twins exchanged a doubtful look before Mikey spoke up next.

"We go 'pital?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Why?"

Pauline wasn't sure which boy asked but both were waiting on an answer. "I'm afraid little boys aren't allowed where your momma is right now."

"Why?"

How much could the boys understand? How much could she tell them about what was going on? How much should she tell them. Pauline put her fan down and bit her lip for a moment.

"You know that your momma has been sick, right? That she has needed to stay in bed a lot?"

There, she'll start with that. After all, the boys were aware that their mother hadn't been able to play with them or take them to the park or anything else that she used to do before the pregnancy.

After the boys nodded she continued, "Well, she is tired after having your little sister so she is staying in the bed at the hospital for a while and getting some extra rest."

Mikey thought about what his grandmother was saying and asked, "When come home?"

"Soon, Baby. Soon."

Pauline then got an idea for the boys to help them not miss their parents so much. She took them inside and put her plan in action and had the boys throw themselves into the little project. She then called Bo since she knew that he was heading out to the hospital after lunch to sit with his sister for a while. He could take their little present with him when he went.

~01~

Over at Daisy's, Kim and Jo were helping with packing away the new mother's things in boxes and crates while they chatted. It went by surprisingly fast since they were really only concentrating on Daisy's clothes as well as the baby gear for the moment. Once that was moved over, there would be plenty of time to pack up the rest of the house.

"You should have seen Uncle Jesse's face when I told him I wanted to come home," Daisy smiled as she thought back to the morning while she sat on the bed while folding some clothes as she packed. "That alone was enough to let me know that this was the right thing to do."

"I can just imagine," Jo laughed as she thought about the old family patriarch. "And it will be nice to have you back at the farm. And I can already picture all of the kids going back and forth between the farms when they get older. You know, I loved being a military brat but part of me wishes that I'd had what this family had while growing up."

"No one has what this family has," Kim piped in. She'd grown up watching from the outside in as the Duke family lived, laughed and loved throughout the years. She loved her uncle and she knew that she was lucky to have him but there was a closeness with this family that surpassed any that she'd ever saw. "We're just lucky enough to be a part of it all, now."

"Ain't that the truth." Jo turned her head to watch as Faith found a stack of blankets that had been placed on the floor. When they tumbled on top of her, at first she was surprised before she started giggling. Jo joined her daughter in laughing at her antics. Having to refold the blankets would be a small price to pay to watch her having so much fun.

"Stop it, you two. You're goin' to make me cry." Daisy tossed a shirt in the direction of the other women as she too started laughing at the baby girl on the floor. "If I start, we'll never get this finished."

"Are you kidding? We had half of your stuff on the truck when Bo and Luke drove it back over to the farmhouse." Jo got up and walked over to where her daughter was on the floor and decided to lie back on the blankets with her as she tickled the infant. It had been hours since they took a break and she couldn't think of a better time; or a better way to spend her time while she did so. "I say we call it a day. Head back over to the farm, get some supper together and start unpacking what we've already sent over."

"I agree. Besides, you don't need to push yourself so soon after giving birth. Let's get Jimmy together and you can get him settled into his crib in his new room."

Daisy nodded. Both Kim and Jo were right. They'd done a lot today and she was tired.

"I just hope that the fellas have gotten it put back together by now."

"Are you kidding? Between all of the kids that have joined the family in the past few years, they should be well practiced at assembling baby gear."

"Well, at least it hasn't been that long since Luke put together Faith's crib." Kim grinned before adding, "But didn't you tell me it took him three hours?"

"Only because he wouldn't read the directions," Jo then whispered, "And I had four screws hidden and I was waiting for him to figure it out."

The women all burst out laughing at the small prank that Jo had pulled on Luke while she was pregnant.

Jo shrugged. "Hey, you have to make your own fun, sometimes. Come on, let's get ready to go home."

~01~

Bo and Jebb listened to the tape that Pauline had sent to the hospital. She had let the boys record a message for their mother. The boys went on about how they wanted their parents to come home and told them about some new toys that Grandma and Grandpa had given them when they had come to town.

Pauline could be heard in the background as she mentioned things that they could talk about on the tape. After the tape had gone on for about five minutes the twins ended their message with some very simple statements.

_"Mumma, wake up."_

_"Miss you."_

_"Come home."_

By the end of the tape, both men were choked up. They knew that neither little boy knew what was really going on. They just knew that they wanted their parents home. Right now, Jebb wanted nothing more than to have his entire family home under the same roof. Both safe and sound.

Not knowing what else to do for the time being, Bo rewound the tape and pressed play once more. For him, the room didn't seem so oppressive with the sounds of his nephews coming through the speakers. As for Jebb, hearing his boys rattle on caused him to do something that he hadn't in a whole day. He couldn't help but grin.

In the bed, Kira heard her little boys calling to her. Her hand flinched as she listened to them tell her about their new toys. She could hear the message being played over again and she wanted to answer her sons when they asked when she was coming home. She just couldn't open her eyes or answer them.


	37. Chapter 37

Jebb snapped his head back toward his wife when he felt her hand twitch. "Kira?"

"What's wrong?" Bo stepped forward to stand beside his cousin as he spoke.

"She moved her hand," Jebb brushed his wife's hair back as he asked her to move it again. He waited several moments and was about to believe that he'd imagined the movement before he felt an ever so slightly twitch once more. This time it was followed by the sight of Kira's eyes fighting to open. When he saw the slightest whites of her eyes Jebb felt a large grin crack his own face.

"Come on, Sis, wake up." Bo reached for Kira's other hand and gave it a squeeze. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to respond with the tube still down her throat from when she had been intubated the day before, he used their unusual link to ask her how she was feeling.

Kira worked hard to try to put her thoughts in order. She wanted to tell her brother that she wanted to go home and see her boys. She was so tired and confused, though, and her thoughts were muddled. She could only get a few words together.

_'Go home... see boys.'_

"I think she's telling you to go take care of the boys," Bo chuckled. "She must know you haven't been home since Friday."

Kira wanted to tell Bo that he had it wrong but she was just too tired to do so. Without fully waking up, Kira drifted back off into healing sleep.

Jebb rolled his eyes at his cousin and asked him to get a nurse. This was the first time since Kira had gone into cardiac arrest the day before that she had shown any improvement. That had to mean that she was getting better.

Bo left and returned only a moment later with a nurse in tow who checked Kira's vitals. She didn't note any change from the last time that she'd come in so she went on to explain that if Jebb had felt any movement it likely was just a reflex before saying that she'd be back to check on her again in a few hours.

"A reflex," Jebb sat back in his chair while letting out a heavy breath.

"That nurse doesn't know everything. We know she was coming around for a minute or two there," Bo said as he tried to comfort his cousin. "And Kira did have a point. You need to go home and see the boys."

"I don't think-"

"Jebb, them boys don't have a clue about what is going on. They just know that they haven't seen you or Kira in more than two days. Go home and see them. Besides, the baby's supposed to go home tomorrow, too. Don't you think you should prepare them a little?"

Jebb looked down at his unconscious wife and knew that despite not wanting to leave her, he did need to take care of their children. Reluctantly, he agreed to go home to see his boys and to get some sleep before returning to the hospital. By the time he got home the twins were cleaned up from the day and his mother was preparing to put them to bed. He told her that he'd finish taking care of them so Pauline left her son to bond with the boys.

Jebb walked them toward his bedroom and helped them up on the bed. He never could sleep alone. Not since getting married. Anytime he and Kira were separated for whatever reason he had long ago started to let the boys climb into bed with him. As he helped the boys get settled, the obvious questions that he knew would come started.

"When Mumma come home?" Jay snuggled between his father and brother as he spoke.

"I don't know. But your little sister will be coming home tomorrow. It's going to be a busy day so we need to get some sleep." Jebb reached across and made sure that both boys laid back to get some sleep. He just hoped that when he returned to the hospital that there would be more news about Kira, or maybe she'd even be awake and could see their children tomorrow.

~01~

The next morning, Bo waited as his wife examined his sister after he told her of Kira's brief moment of semi-consciousness the night before. When Kim gave a slight shake of her head to indicate that she didn't see any change in Kira's condition Bo spoke up.

"I tell you, she was communicating with me last night. She told Jebb to go home and be with the boys."

"That may be but I can't exactly put that she and you have a strange connection in her medical file as a way to explain the change of her prognosis." Kim walked over to put an arm around Bo and gave him a hug. "At least you know she's trying to wake up. Though to be honest, it may be best that she didn't wake up all the way last night. It'd be easier on her if she waits until she's taken off of the ventilator. That way she won't fight it. I'll see if we can try taking her off later today. Until then, let me know if you hear anything else from her."

Bo nodded and sat back down in the chair next to his sister as his wife left out to head back down the hall toward her office. He knew that someone else from the family would be in soon to sit with Kira so he could go home and get some rest and then tend to the farm chores. Until then, he just waited beside his sister and hoped that he'd feel some change in her condition before he left.

~01~

Daisy climbed out of bed as she heard her son cry from down the hall to tell her that he was awake and ready for a diaper change and his next feeding. After making her way to the room next to hers, the one that the fellas had set up for Jimmy's nursery, Daisy glanced around the room briefly to take it in. It was hard to believe that she was back home on the family farm. It was both strange yet felt natural at the same time.

After changing the newborn, Daisy headed downstairs with him to get a bottle for him. As she walked into the kitchen she saw Jesse pulling a fresh bottle from the pot of water that he'd been warming it in.

"Thanks, Uncle Jesse."

"I heard someone was hungry and knew you'd be down in a minute. Here, let me feed him." Jesse reached forward and took the baby so that Daisy could eat some breakfast after her long night of feedings every two hours.

"Gladly." Daisy sat at the table and put her head down from exhaustion. It only took a moment for her to feel sleep beginning to pull at her.

"Daisy, why don't you head back to bed. I've got Jimmy. You need to make sure you take care of yourself."

"I'm alright."

"I'm sure you are but there's no reason to push yourself. Especially when there's a whole family here to help you."

"I'm not the one who needs the whole family's help." Daisy wiped a hand across her face while trying to wake up a bit more. "I'm not the one lying in the hospital three days after giving birth."

"Now, don't feel like you can't ask for help. Jebb's folks are in town to help with the other kids, too. That means that there's more than enough help to go around. Now you go on back upstairs and get some more sleep. I'll finish feedin' Jimmy and put him back down when he's ready."

Daisy nodded and stood back up. Truth be told, she felt like the walking dead and sleep sounded great to her. "Alright, Uncle Jesse. And thanks."

Jesse smiled as he watched his niece head back upstairs. He loved the fact that even as tired as she was she was more concerned about her ailing cousin than she was about taking care of her own needs. He then returned his attention back to the infant in his arms. It felt so good to be needed.

~01~

Pauline walked through the halls and made her way to the nursery. She knew that Jebb and Kira's little girl would be going home today; even if her mother wasn't. Pauline was still annoyed that Jebb wouldn't tell anyone the baby's full name. He did, however, decide to share her first name since she couldn't exactly go home with everyone only referring to her as_ the baby_. She knew that Bo and Kira's mother would have been honored to have a namesake; especially since she'd never gotten the chance to know her daughter after she was kidnapped.

When she got to the nursery, she found that Bo's wife was already there and holding the small and newest Duke in her arms in a rocking chair. One perk about working in the hospital was that Kim could come down to the nursery to see her niece anytime things were slow elsewhere. When Kim noticed Pauline, she offered to get up so that she could hold her grandchild.

"You go ahead and stay where you are," Pauline said as she walked over and saw that the newborn was asleep after having finished a bottle. "I forgot you were working today."

"I volunteered since Kira was here. That and this little girl," Kim added as she smiled down at her niece.

Pauline sat down in a nearby rocking chair and watched the younger woman tend to the infant. She liked the picture in front of her and had a hard time accepting that Kim would never be able to hold a baby of her own like that.

"You seem to be a natural. I remember the first few times that Kira held the boys, she looked like she was afraid she'd drop them."

"She seemed to get used to having kids around pretty fast." Kim mentally got an image of her sister-in-law being intimidated by such small bundles and tried hard not to laugh. Kira always tried to act so strong, not only as a way to handle her childhood but also as a front to cover up just how fragile her health really was. Health that had only gotten worse with each pregnancy.

"That she has." Pauline agreed. After spending a few moments watching her nephew's wife, she had to ask, "Did you want kids... You know, before your ex-husband?"

Kim swallowed as she looked down at the sleeping infant. She nodded slowly but didn't speak up for a moment. "Even when I was married to Ted, I couldn't wait to have a baby of my own. I was so excited every time I learned I was pregnant."

"Every time?"

Kim answered sadly, "There were a few."

"Maybe you could try again."

"No," Kim shook her head. "It wouldn't be fair to even try. I know Bo would make a great father but I wouldn't be able to watch him get his hopes up just to be disappointed."

"You talk like you're sure you can't have any children." Pauline reached over and dabbed a bit of drool escaping the tiny infant's mouth.

"I am sure," Kim sighed. When she was younger she'd wanted to have a whole houseful of children of her own. Maybe it stemmed from growing up alone in the house with only her uncle without any other kids her own age to play with. Still, Kim knew that any pregnancy would end in the second trimester thanks to her damaged womb. She couldn't bear to lose another child after hearing its heartbeat and learning if she was going to have a boy or girl to grieve.

Pauline thought about prodding Kim further when she didn't say any more but bit her lip. She remembered that Bo had told her that Kim couldn't have kids due to the many beatings that she'd taken at her ex-husband's hands. She'd hoped that it hadn't been true but one look at Kim's face told her that the woman had given up all hope on being a mother.

Feeling the awkwardness of the moment, Pauline changed the subject. Instead, she asked about her daughter-in-law.

"She's been taken off of the ventilator and is breathing on her own. Hopefully, she'll wake up today."

Pauline nodded. Yes, hopefully she would. "Jebb's bringing the boys later. They miss their mother terribly."

"It's got to be hard on them, not knowing what's going on. They were told their mother was just coming to the hospital to have their sister and now the baby is going home but Kira isn't."

"Not to mention, Jebb's been away from the house, too. At least he came home last night, thanks to Bo."

Kim nodded. "Just wait until they have to start getting used to sharing their parents' attention with this little girl."

"They'll get used to it," Pauline said.

She remembered when she first brought Jebb home. His sister, Karen, was about the same age as the boys now when he was born. She had been the only child in the family for nearly three years and having to share the attention with a new baby hadn't been on the top of her list of things she wanted to do. The boys, however, have already shared their parents' attention with each other and less than a year ago Faith was brought into the family. So it wasn't quite the same.

For the next half hour, Pauline shared some stories from when she'd first brought Jebb home and Karen had tried to figure out a way to be the only child once more. One method had been to throw all of her toys into the crib with the baby to hid him under the stuffed animals. After all, to a two year old, if you can't find something, it must not exist anymore; right?

Then there was the time she'd managed to somehow, at three years old, take a four month old Jebb out to hide him in the barn in one of the empty stalls. It had taken Pauline more than an hour of panicking to find her son. If he hadn't woke up and started screaming the animals in the barn wouldn't have started to make a terrible racket which is why she'd gone out there in the first place. It seemed that for the first year of Jebb's life, every time Pauline turned around, Karen was trying to get rid of her baby brother.

Looking back, it was amazing that Jebb ever survived infancy.

~01~

Hours later, Jebb sat with his boys in the nursery of the hospital and watched as they each curiously approached their new baby sister. Mikey, as always, was more outgoing and gave his finger to the baby and giggled when she latched onto it. Meanwhile, Jay stood several feet away and watched on from the doorway.

"Come on over, Jay. Come see your baby sister."

"Want see Mumma."

Jebb sighed. Normally children weren't allowed in the wing that Kira was being treated but Kim said she'd see to it that the boys were able to see their mother for a few minutes before the family went home. Still, he'd hoped that Kira would have woken up by now.

"We'll go in a few minutes. But remember what I told you, your momma is asleep so we'll have to be real quiet when we go see her."

"Go now." Jay crossed his arms and pouted. In response, Mikey seconded his brother's request to go see their mother.

Giving in, Jebb put the newborn back into the small cradle and picked his boys up and headed down toward Kira's room. Once there, he put each boy on the bed beside her while trying to look like there was nothing wrong with the boys' mother.

"See, I told you. She's asleep," Jebb whispered as if he was afraid he'd wake his sleeping wife.

Jay nudged his mother with both hands, "Mumma, wake up."

"Jaybird, I told you, she needs her sleep. She's really tired."

"Wake up and go home." Jay crossed his arms and looked up at his father. "Now."

"Sorry, bud. Maybe she'll wake up later."

Jebb told the boys that he'd bring them back the next day to see their mother again. He then brushed Kira's forehead with a kiss before gathering up the boys to head back to the nursery to get the baby and get ready to go home. It wasn't exactly the way he'd imagined taking his daughter home for the first time. He just hoped that his wife would be joining them soon.


	38. Chapter 38

Jo pulled up a seat next to Kira after sending Pauline home to be with Jebb and the others. She'd sat with the red-haired woman after Jebb brought in the kids to see their mother. After seeing to Faith and making sure that she'd sleep for Luke, Jo had come down to the hospital to relieve her. Everyone in the family was doing their best to help out where they could. Even Daisy, as tired as she was, had helped get a bottle together after supper for the baby when she was getting one ready for Jimmy as well. Two babies born on the same day, it was almost like having another set of twins in the family.

Not feeling tired just yet, Jo pulled out a book that she'd been reading whenever she had some spare time. Which really wasn't that often since Faith seemed to be in to everything lately. She knew that as soon as her daughter could walk, she was in trouble. At least she was able to put all of her painting supplies out of reach and behind a locked door in the attic. Otherwise, she was sure she'd find Faith covered from head to toe in paint after just leaving the room long enough to go to the bathroom.

Jo decided that as long as she was reading, she might as well as read aloud. Bo had told her and Luke about Kira's brief battle with consciousness the night before. It did give a bit of hopefulness to the family and it did show that Kira very well might be hearing them when they were in the room. With the book being a murder mystery, Jo figured that it might would be of interest to Kira so she began to read it aloud.

After three chapters, Jo had nearly forgotten where she was as she read the book. Just as she reached the climax of the book where the protagonist confronted the villainous murderer of the story Jo heard a moan ever so slightly in the room. After a brief hesitation and looking around the room in surprise, Jo realized that the moan had come from the other woman.

"Kira?" Jo moved closer to the bed and saw that Kira's eyes were open and she looked confused. Jo gave her husband's cousin a smile as she put her book down. "Welcome back."

"Wh-" Kira tried to speak but her mouth was too dry. Jo took a cup from the side table, filled it with water from the pitcher that had been left in the room with ice water, and put a straw in it before lifting it up to Kira's lips to take a sip. With her mouth properly moistened, she tried once more. "Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital, Kira. Do you remember why?"

Kira tried to think back to the last thing she could remember. After a moment she recalled leaving the house in labor. She moved a hand to her stomach and discovered that she was no longer pregnant. Seeing the movement and understanding what Kira was trying to figure out, Jo went ahead and assured her that the baby was fine.

"She was born perfectly healthy, Kira. In fact, Jebb has been able to take her home, already."

"What day is it?"

Jo glanced over at the clock and saw it was a little after midnight. "It's early Tuesday morning, the baby was born on Saturday."

"Three days?" Kira closed her eyes as she processed that once more she'd missed the first three days of her child's life, just as she had with the boys. With them, they'd been rushed to the NICU in Atlanta and it had take that long for her to be transferred. But now? It was as if she was cursed to miss the first three days of each of her children's lives; possibly because those were the only ones that her own mother had been able to share with her. "What happened?"

Jo knew that Kira wouldn't want her to beat around the bush so she went ahead and told her with military efficiency. "You went into cardiac arrest during labor. The doctors rushed you up to the operating room and had to bring you back."

"Cardiac ar-" Kira couldn't even finish saying it. Jo just told her that she died and the doctors brought her back. Again. How long did it take? What's going to happen now?

"You're okay now, Kira. Kim said it was likely from the strain of the labor."

"Is she here?" Kira wanted to talk to a doctor now. Of all the ones available, she'd prefer it to be her sister-in-law.

"She went home several hours ago. I can go find the doctor on duty, if you want. I should probably tell the nurses that you are awake, anyway."

Kira shook her head. For some reason she didn't want to be alone. If she was in the hospital, it was only a matter of time before a nurse would be in to check on her.

"How's Jebb?"

"How do you think? If the family didn't make him leave the hospital to take care of himself and see to the kids, he'd still be here. Wait until he sees that you are awake."

Kira smiled as she imagined her devoted husband worried by her bedside. "Let's not tell him before he gets here. I want to see his expression."

Jo returned her smile. Yes, it seemed that the Duke Men just fell apart when there was something wrong with their women and they couldn't fix it. "I wouldn't dream of ruining that moment for you."

She saw that the short conversation was taking a toll on Kira so she suggested that she lie back and rest. She then picked her book back up and continued to read for a while longer. Once Kira was asleep, Jo closed her book and leaned back in her chair knowing that the family would all have a weight lifted of their shoulders just as soon as they learned of the latest news about Kira.

~01~

Jebb got up as he heard his daughter crying from down the hall. He knew that it was time for another diaper change and bottle. He stood and headed to the door in his underwear and made his way down the hall. He went to the crib and picked up his little girl. He cleaned her up and turned to head down to get her bottle and found Mikey standing in the doorway, rubbing his eyes.

"What are you doin' up so early? You still have a little while before you need to get up."

"Me help."

Jebb couldn't help but chuckle at the offer. He was the complete opposite of his brother in nearly every way. Jay had practically ignored the newborn last night while Mikey had run to fetch the diapers as well as anything else needed for her.

"Alright. I'll tell you what; you get to pick out which bottle she gets. How's that?" Jebb had barely gotten it out of his mouth before his son ran ahead of him and headed down to the kitchen. By the time he'd joined his son, Mikey had left the refrigerator door standing wide open and he had a bottle in hand.

"Here!" The toddler proudly held his prize in his hand for his father to take while grinning broadly.

Jebb took it and put it in a pan of water on the stove to warm it up. This was a step he didn't miss when the boys were younger. Since Kira nursed them, there were never any bottles to warm at three in the morning. Something that he knew that she'd planned to do for their daughter. Once the bottle was properly warmed, he took it, the baby, and his son into the living room and sat on the couch to feed his daughter while Mikey snuggled next to his side. By the time the baby was finished, all three Dukes on the couch began to drift back off to sleep. That was how Pauline and John found the three of them a couple of hours later.

~01~

Kim looked over Kira's test results and smiled knowing that she was finally on the mend. She'd been pleasantly surprised to find her sister-in-law awake when she came to check on her after getting to the hospital to start her shift. Kim had been quick to get the needed tests out of the way so that she wouldn't have to disturb her sister-in-law once her husband returned to the hospital. Now she was able to go over them during the time left before Jebb was to arrive.

"Well, you seem to be doing pretty well; which is good news. You'll only need to stay here for a few more days for observation, then you know the drill from your last delivery."

"Yep, 'cause I died then, too," Kira muttered to herself under her breath. She knew the drill alright. She'd be expected to follow-up with the various specialists for the rest of her life. Then of course there were the endless pills that she'd have to take, as well. A routine she was becoming too familiar with.

Kim eyed Kira but let the comment go. That was the third comment so far that referenced death in a sarcastic manner. Only moments earlier, Kira had asked Kim for her overnight bag so she could comb her hair out after stating that she didn't want to look like death warmed over when Jebb finally gets to the hospital. Kim finished going over the test results before finally addressing the comment, or rather the underlying cause of it.

"Finally, there is one last doctor that I want you to see."

"Another one? Seriously? What's this one goin' to be for?"

Kim swallowed before answering, "Doctor Jeffrey has been working here at the hospital for the last year and I think that you'll find that she's quite good at what she does."

Kira eyed the other woman suspiciously. "Just what is it that she does? What kind of a doctor is she?"

Kim took a deep breath before replying, "She's a psychologist."

"You think I need to see a shrink?" Kira was insulted at the recommendation. That and a bit disgusted. She'd seen shrinks before as a child and she had no desire to see another one.

"Kira, many times after patients have lived through a trauma like you have, it isn't unusual to have a difficult time really coming to terms with everything that's happened. And this isn't the first time that you've faced this kind of situation."

"That's right. It isn't. And I did just fine without going to some head doctor; just like I always have."

Kim heard the angry tone in her sister-in-law's voice and she knew that she'd hit a nerve. The same nerve that she'd known was always raw since it has never really healed. Knowing that she couldn't back down, she continued, "Have you really? Or have you just been hiding from the fact that you haven't dealt with it? Instead, you've buried it deep inside along with all of the other crap that you've lived through in the past before you found the rest of the family. You can't keep doing that to yourself, Kira. Bury it all you want, but eventually it all comes back to the surface."

Kira's face became like stone. With her nostrils flaring, the heart monitor recording the accelerated beats, and the cuff on her arm tightened to measure her blood pressure in response, Kira sat up and ordered the other woman to leave.

Kim glanced at the reading on the monitor before sighing. "You know that I'm right. If I wasn't, you wouldn't have gotten so angry. But in case you're concerned, Doctor Jeffrey is very discreet." Kim turned toward the door before adding, "I should know."

Kira caught the last bit as Kim walked away and made a face at the comment. "What? How would you know?"

"You aren't the only one who has had it rough, Kira. In the same time-frame that you've met your family, learned the truth about where you came from, got married and started a family of your own, I've lived a different life. In just four years I've gone from being married to Ted, lost children of my own before I ever was able to lay eyes on them, attacked more times than I can count, ended up on the run on the other side of the world because my husband wanted to kill me, nearly died more than once, gotten married again, watched as a friend was murdered right in front of me and woke up in a coffin six feet under." Kim took a calming breath to maintain her composure. She was proud of herself for not screaming any of that at the other woman but now that it was out, she was much closer to crying instead. "So yes, I know that Doctor Jeffrey is discreet."

Kim watched as Kira went slack-jaw and seemed to be speechless for several moments. She'd been so concentrated on what she'd lived through that she hadn't even looked up to see what was going on around her. Kim always appeared to have everything together. She had been proud of how she'd been able to get back to her normal life, or most of it, after being kidnapped and tortured by her ex-husband. She hadn't even thought about how hard it must be for her to look that way.

When she saw the tears threatening the corners of Kim's eyes Kira couldn't help but feel some in her own.

"I'm sorry." That was all that Kira could get out of her mouth. She didn't trust herself to say more.

"I know," Kim nodded. "Just do me a favor. Give her a chance. She may help you more than you know."

Kira swallowed hard. She didn't want to see that doctor. She really didn't. She didn't trust most doctors and she trusted shrinks even less. Still, she did trust Kim.

"Fine. But I'm not promisin' nothin'."

Kim smiled at the acquiescence. "Fair enough."

~01~

Jebb walked down the same hall that he had for the last few days and felt as if it had been months already. In his hands he had a couple of magazines that Bo had let him borrow. He knew that he'd not actually be able to read them but at least they'd help pass the time while flipping through them.

He also had some drawings that the boys had made for their mother in hand. They were really just scribbles but they'd wanted Kira to have them so he told them that he'd hang them over her bed. He was certain that Jay had been trying to draw a car. Mikey, he wasn't sure what he had tried to draw. Still, it was clear that he liked the color blue best.

When Jebb got to the room that his wife had been in since Saturday, he felt his heart sink to his feet. The room was empty with a neatly made bed as if waiting for the next patient. He turned back to the nurses' station and got the attention of one of the nurses.

"Excuse me. My wife, where is she?"

The nurse looked up from her charts and asked, "And who is your wife?"

"Kira Duke. She's been in that room for more than three days and now she's missing."

"Duke..." The nurse looked around her papers and files before she finally looked up. "She's been moved out of ICU and taken to the second floor."

"Moved?" If she wasn't in the ICU anymore then that must mean that she's improved since he'd left the day before. Still... "Why didn't anyone call and tell me."

"I'm sure someone did, sir. Or at least tried to. If you head down to the second floor, someone can help you find her new room."

Jebb turned toward the elevator and hurried to the next nurses' station. He asked for his wife's room once more and walked through the door only to stop dead in his tracks. There she was, sitting up in her bed while reading as if she hadn't been unconscious for three days.

Sensing that she wasn't alone in the room, Kira looked up and smiled when she saw Jebb. She could see just how hard the last few days had been on him. The stress was sprawled across his face just like it always does when he is under too much pressure.

"I hear I've missed quite a bit while I was out."

Jebb rushed over to where Kira was and bent down to wrap her in an emotional hug. She pulled him onto the bed with her and leaned into his embrace. The two of them sat like that for a long time. Both had questions that they wanted to ask the other but at the moment, none of them seemed to be as important as the fact that they were together.


	39. Chapter 39

Bo walked down the hall carrying his new niece toward his sister's room along with the huge diaper bag that his aunt had insisted that he'd take as well. He could have come sooner with the infant but he knew from talking with Kim that his sister was scheduled to speak with Doctor Jeffrey before lunch. If Kira's appointment went anything like Kim's usually do, she'd need some time to collect herself before she would want anyone to see her again.

He knew that neither of the women had easy lives. For Kim, her nightmares revolved around Ted and all that he'd done to her both during their marriage and afterwards. For Kira, her nightmares were more complicated. True, her life in general made a dramatic change a few years back but trauma seemed to still find her more often than not; even now that she was married with children. He hoped that Doctor Jeffrey would be able to get Kira to talk to her. He hated to admit it but sometimes talking to someone like her was just what was needed.

Once Bo got to his sister's hospital room he opened the room and grinned as he saw both his sister and brother-in-law.

"Anybody know why a stork may have dropped this little bundle off at the farm?"

Kira sat up straighter in her bed as she got her first glimpse of her daughter at long last. The first thing that she noticed was that she was much bigger than the boys had been when they were first born. She'd been told that she had been almost nine pounds at birth; perhaps the reason behind her inability to give birth to her naturally. The second thing about her daughter that she noticed was the sprinkling of fine red hair that adorned the top of her head.

Bo carefully placed the infant in Kira's waiting arms as he smiled just as broadly as his sister. He watched her face as she took in the newborn's appearance in awe. Bo knew that her wait to see her daughter had been a hard one but now it was over.

"So, Jebb told us that her name is Crystal, she got a middle name to go with it?"

When Jebb saw Kira's brow rise in a question he shrugged. "She couldn't go home without a name but I know you wanted to save her full name to be able to tell folks yourself."

"Well," Kira considered before answering, "I guess I could tell you, providing that you don't tell Pauline."

"A secret from Pauline? This I got to hear."

"Not a secret, really. I'm just tired of not ever being there to see folks when I have something that I want to tell em."

"Alright, alright. So what it is?"

Kira and Jebb exchanged glances before she finally said, "It's Rose. Crystal Rose Duke."

"You named her after Pauline?"

"It seemed to be the right thing to do. She is Jebb's mother and despite everything, there's never been any question that she loves her family."

"Just wait until Mom hears it." Jebb had waited since Saturday to tell his mother the name of his daughter. He still couldn't believe that it had actually been Kira's suggestion to use his mother's middle name for their daughter's. She'd said that she liked the name and how it went with her own mother's name well. Truth be told, Jebb knew that despite their differences and the way they bickered, the two most important women in his life really did care for one another and this was his wife's way of showing it. Of course, there were many reasons that the name fit, as well. Both Mikey and Jay were named after each of their grandfathers, having their sister named for their grandmothers was only natural.

Bo imagined his aunt and knew that the news was likely to make her day for at least six months. He grinned and declared that he liked the name. He then left the couple to spend time with their daughter alone. Bo had promised Kim that he'd treat her to lunch before he returned out to the farm to help Luke.

There were various crops in the family garden that needed to be harvested and most of the womenfolk were needed elsewhere. Kim spent most of her time at the local hospital and Daisy was still getting used to being a new mother and healing from the birth. Jo had tried to do her best while watching after Faith but it was too much work for her to do on her own; especially since she was still not quite a natural when it came to farm work.

Jesse had promised to help Jo make some preserves and jellies after lunch with some of the peaches, plums and other fruits that had already been collected off of the farm. Jo wanted to send some to her father, providing that she didn't ruin her first batch. Jesse assured her that she could be proud of her efforts; regardless of how the jellies turned out. He was equally sure that the general would feel the same way.

~01~

"There, now that the water is boiling, you'll add your peaches and sugar. You'll want to keep it boiling until you have a thick, clear syrup. Now whatever you do, don't stop stirring; else it will all start to stick to the pot." Jesse was getting a big kick out of teaching Jo how to make preserves.

Kira hadn't shown any skill in it when he'd tried teaching her. Her first try unassisted turned out to be quite bitter and runny. At least that had been her declaration when she'd tossed the whole batch out before anyone else could taste it. Jesse had doubts as to just how badly the jelly had been; certain that Kira was much harsher of a critic of herself than the rest of the family would have been.

Kim, on the other hand, was already as skilled as Daisy. She had learned how to put up jelly and preserves when she was growing up so she didn't need Jesse to teach her. She may have grown up in town rather than out on a farm but she had learned all of the things that a good, Hazzard-girl should know.

Jo poured the sugar in and began to stir as Jesse put in the peaches and other ingredients that he had set out for her. She'd chosen after lunch for her lesson since Faith should be down for her nap while she was busy in the hot kitchen. And hot was exactly what it was. She couldn't believe how hot it was. It had to be even hotter than it had been last year; and she'd been pregnant, then.

The two Dukes worked together as they made their preserves as they chatted about everything from the health of the family, the children, as well as Jo's latest letter from her father. They were just finishing up with sealing the last of the jars as Faith cried out from up in the nursery to let her mother know that she was awake and needed a diaper change.

"You go on and take care of Faith. We'll check on the jars tomorrow afternoon to make sure they all sealed. With any luck, your daddy will be spreadin' some of your preserves on his toast by Sunday mornin'."

"Thanks, Jesse." Jo smiled as she looked around at the jars of preserves. It felt satisfying to know that she was learning to make something with her own hands. Much like she knew that the men got a real sense of satisfaction each time they planted and harvested a crop. Such a feeling could certainly become addictive. It was no wonder that Daisy had always been so proud of her own canning skills.

~01~

Pauline walked with her husband through the hospital after the twins woke up from their afternoon nap. She was glad that their mother was finally awake and that they were able to see her. The two boys had been driving her crazy with their asking every few minutes just when they could go to the hospital to see their momma. Once Jebb had called home to tell his folks that Kira was awake, that only caused the boys to become even more eager to leave out for the hospital.

Once the small family found Kira's new room, John opened its door and waited as the others filed in before joining them inside. Both boys raced to the bed where their mother was sitting while Jebb sat in the nearby chair while holding his daughter. John hefted each boy onto the bed with Kira and watched as they hugged their mother for the first time since she'd left out while in labor five days ago.

"You're lookin' much better now, Kira." Pauline motioned for his son to remain seated since he was holding the baby. She could stand for a while and if she got tired she could sit at the foot of the bed. "I don't mind tellin' you, you scared the livin' daylights out of me-"

All three adults snapped their heads as they each motioned toward the children. Pauline raised a hand to her mouth as she realized that she shouldn't have brought up the scare from Saturday in front of the twins.

"Mumma scare you?" Jay asked as he looked from his grandmother and his mom.

"Well, um, yes. I reckon that we were all worried for your momma, but she's awake and alright so now we know that there's nothing to be scared about."

"So mumma go home now?" Mikey asked for both of the boys.

Kira shook her head reluctantly. "Not today. Maybe tomorrow."

Jebb gave her a look that clearly meant that he didn't think that they should tell the kids anything that they didn't know for sure. Still, Kira didn't want to worry the kids so she wanted to give them a bit of hope.

"Maybe. And when I do go home, I think I could use a bit of a change of scenery after sitting in the hospital for so long. What do you think about going down to the swimming pond? I can't go swimming just yet but as hot as it's been, I'm sure all of you could use a break, too. What do ya say? A nice picnic and a cool dip?"

Both boys nodded eagerly since the small pond that their parents took them to when they went swimming was one of their favorite places to go to on the whole farm. It was the same pond that the family would have their picnics after either his father or uncles won a race in their cars. Soft moss grew along the banks of the pond and it was surrounded by a small meadow of wild flowers. A great place for a picnic.

"I think that would be a great way to relax after a week in the hospital," John said as he exchanged a look with his son since he'd caught the look that Jebb had sent his wife. He knew that Jebb was bound to be worried for Kira after nearly losing her during childbirth but he also knew that the woman in question would never stand for too much coddling. Besides, a family picnic out near the small pond wouldn't exactly be very taxing. Especially if the other womenfolk in the family put the food together and the men could help watch all of the young Dukes. After spending most of her pregnancy on bedrest, John figured that Kira was owed a day out in the sunshine.

Kira sent a smile of gratitude toward her father-in-law in response to his support. Jebb knew when he'd been beat so he relented and said that he'd contact the other Dukes so that they could join them. Pauline, after reminding the others that the boys would have to be watched closely around the water, then began discussing the sorts of foods that she could whip up for the picnic.

Soon it was time for the small family, minus Kira, to head back home to get supper ready for the boys as well as Jebb's younger sisters. As the eldest Dukes prepared the boys to leave their mother, Kira stopped them.

"There is just one more thing that I wanted to discuss with you before ya'll left."

"Like what? It's getting pretty late and should be getting back to the farm."

Jebb got up to hand his daughter to Pauline as he said, "It has to do with Crystal. You know how you were asking me if she had a middle name?"

"Yes. This mean you're goin' finally tell us what it is?"

"Nope. It means that Kira's goin' to do it," Jebb grinned as he went back to sit beside his wife.

"Well, I'm sure you realized that we named her Crystal after my mother. Well, for her middle name, we wanted to honor someone else." Kira took Jebb's hand before she continued, "So we named her… Crystal Rose."

Pauline's eyes darted to her son and daughter-in-law as she sought confirmation of both the name and the reason behind it.

"I know that we've had our ups and downs but there is one thing that I've always known and that is that you love your family and you will fight both hell and high water if anyone ever put them in danger or went against them," Kira said pointedly since she'd been on the receiving end of Pauline's anger as well as her motherly love at times. "That's a trait that I have to admire. In anyone."

Pauline smiled down at the small infant in her arms as a tear began to roll down her cheek. She didn't know what to say. She knew that she hadn't made things easy at times; especially back when she first learned of Kira and Jebb's marriage. Then of course there was the incident back at Christmas. Now after everything that she'd done, they were naming her granddaughter after her. After a few moments, there was only one thing that she could say.

"Thank you."

~01~

Luke walked out of the post office after picking up the mail. He sorted through it on his way back to the General Lee where his cousin was waiting for him after running his own errands while in town. When he saw that his wife had a letter from her father, he put that envelope at the top of the pile since he was sure that Jo would want to read that one first.

Once he was back at the car, he slipped in and motioned for Bo to take off. They then headed back to the farms so that they could help get everything ready for the picnic down by the swimmin' hole to celebrate the births of the two newest Dukes as well as Kira's return from the hospital. In the meantime, the two men enjoyed a relaxing drive together much in the way that they had done for years; just the two of them together like old times.

As Bo drove, he told his cousin of how he'd run into Enos and asked him how he was doing. He knew that despite the fact that it had been several months since the shooting out at the cabin, the deputy was still haunted by the fact that he'd had to kill a man; even if he hadn't really had a choice.

"Well, how was he?"

"Better. He said that he's finally finished the mandatory counseling sessions through the state department. He said that he still didn't like what happened but he'd do it again if he had to. I got to say, I sure am glad that he came to the cabin when he did."

Luke nodded his agreement since he knew that if it hadn't been for Enos, Bo could have been seriously hurt; or worse. "We'll have to ask him to go fishin' with us next time we go."

"Already did." Bo grinned as looked over to his cousin. "We're goin' next week."

_A/N:_

_In response to recent reviews regarding this story. Yes, some characters have been more front and center as of late but that is just how the story has flowed. I feel a writer shouldn't insert characters into a chapter unless they belong there. If I can put in a bit regarding a character that I've not touched base with without breaking the flow of the story then I will but I won't just because Character A or B hasn't been seen in a chapter or two. With such a large cast of primary characters, both Canon Characters as well as Original Characters, it is only natural for some to drop back during certain parts of the story while others get to shine but each have been and will continue to be given their due. It is all a matter of patience until their part of the story unfolds. _

_The one thing that has been taken into account with the character's "screen time" perhaps have been reviews and messages sent after each chapter. Characters that have more requests, like Jebb and Kira, have more subplots since that is what has appeared to be what the loyal readers have wanted. Throughout it all, I have strove to maintain each character's identity from the show. By the end of the series, which is where this story series has picked up, our beloved characters had matured quite a bit from the first episode and I try to show that maturity. _

_Now as for the review that stated that Kim treats Bo as if he is stupid, along with others, I would appreciate some indication of just how you have drawn this conclusion since this is the first that such interpretations of their relationship have been voiced to me. I would love to discuss that further so please PM me about such concerns._

_To the other readers, please continue to enjoy the story. As with any writer, I'd love a review or message to tell me what you are enjoying but I'll understand if you don't have time. Stay tuned for the next chapter. _


	40. Chapter 40

Daisy sat in the rocking chair out on the front porch with Jimmy while enjoying the afternoon breeze. By looking at the clouds, she figured that it would likely rain sometime after she would go to bed. That meant that she'd get to drift off while listening to the rain on the roof; one of her all-time favorite sounds to listen to at night.

She pulled the blanket a bit tighter around her son so that he wouldn't chill in the fall air. It was hard for her to believe that he was already two months old. The men had just finished the corn harvest and they had a small breather before they would start the cotton harvest in a couple of weeks. Something else that would happen in just a couple of weeks was the fact that she'd need to return to work by the end of the month.

Boss had been quite patient with her so far, all things considered, but he'd made it known to her during her last couple of trips to town that he could use the extra help out at the old roadhouse. The truth was, J.D. rarely hired girls who planned to work out at the bar for longer than a few months at a time. That meant that he was constantly in need of a new waitress. With Daisy out on leave, he'd lost his only real full-time waitress. As much as she hated to admit it, Daisy liked the fact that Boss needed her out at the roadhouse.

When the wind picked up Daisy stood and headed back inside. She'd put off thinking about returning to work a bit later. For now she just wanted to enjoy sitting with her son and marveling at how much he seemed to grow daily.

Once inside, Jesse asked if she and Kira still planned to go shopping in the morning. Crystal needed new clothes and Daisy was always looking for a reason to enjoy both the company of her female kin as well as a good shopping trip.

"Yep. Kira's given me a lot of the boys' old things but with the boys born on New Year's most of them are for the wrong season. I also need a few outfits now that it's getting cooler in the evening. Especially since I told Boss that I'd return to work next week."

"You sure that you're ready for that?"

"It's time, Uncle Jesse. I can't stand just stayin' around the house no more and I miss working out at the Boar's Nest."

Jesse raised a brow at his niece but felt that she was telling him the truth. She'd always been outgoing and staying home every single day with the baby wasn't her. "I'll make sure that I take care of the twins while you're gone. I'm not sure just how fun you'd find shopping with not just Kira but the boys, too, otherwise."

Daisy laughed. Yes, shopping with Kira for baby gear was a bit different than shopping with Jo or Kim. Fortunately, Jo was able to join the two other mothers for the trip so that would make the excursion a bit more fun than Daisy watching Kira decide in the first five minutes what she wanted and then feeling rushed as she searched the baby clothes for another hour.

"I don't know why Kira still insists on rushing through a simple shopping trip. I'd think she'd enjoy a lazy afternoon of just browsing through some clothes for her and the kids."

"Not every woman finds browsing through clothes to be as relaxing as others, Daisy." Jesse chuckled since he really didn't see Kira ever being the kind to look forward to a day of shopping quite like Daisy did. "Besides, with three youngens to take care of, she likely doesn't have much time to just browse. There's always something that needs to be done."

Daisy shrugged in response. "At least Jo knows how to have fun while out. And as for Kira, she'll just have to learn how to slow down, sometime. After all, it's not like she's been working on any cases lately."

"I wouldn't point that out to her anytime soon." Jesse chuckled. He knew that Kira couldn't wait to get back to work, even if she did have her hands full at the moment.

~01~

Daisy parked her Jeep as Kira parked her truck beside her outside of the clothing store that they'd agreed to meet at. Daisy had hoped that the three women could have gotten all three infants in one vehicle but she hadn't really thought it through when they first made their plans to go shopping. Three women with three infants and all the gear that goes along with them was just too much for a single car. Instead, Jo rode along with Daisy while Kira followed behind in the truck; an arrangement that she probably liked much better anyway since she would then be able to leave out on her own once she was finished shopping for the day.

Both Jo and Daisy hopped out of the Jeep and began to get the infants unbuckled as Kira did the same for her daughter. After all three women had their babies ready for a day of shopping, Daisy led the way toward the infant's department of the store as each chatted about the latest accomplishments of each child.

Jo told the other women that she had caught Faith taking a few unsteady steps by herself when she'd gone to get her out of the nursery that morning. If she had been happy to see her daughter taking steps while holding on to her or Luke's hands, seeing her do so on her own not only thrilled her but scared her just a little as well. Being more mobile meant that Faith could get into more trouble if she wasn't watching her carefully.

Daisy, meanwhile, was glad that Jimmy had let her sleep for six whole hours the night before which left her feeling more rested than she could remember since she'd given birth. She also swore that he'd given her a genuine smile when she'd changed his diaper last night. Jo thought that the little boy was still too young but Daisy insisted that she'd gotten a smile from her son and nothing that Jo could say would dissuade her.

"What do you think, Kira? Crystal and Jimmy are literally the same age. Has she been giving any smiles yet?" Jo shook her head at her husband's cousin since she couldn't remember Faith smiling quite as young. "I still say that it has to be gas."

Kira shrugged. "It's possible. Mikey sure gets a kick out of tryin' to get her to smile at him. And who knows, maybe the babies are really laughin' at the way they keep us guessin' at what they want all of the time."

"A Duke's first bit of mischief, huh?" Jo cocked a brow at the other women before laughing. "I guess I could see that."

The women began to look through the racks and shelves of baby clothing as they continued to share stories of the children as well as the men back at the farm. When Daisy looked up after telling a story on a prank that she'd seen Luke pull on Bo the day before, she saw that Kira already had a small pile of clothes resting on top of the stroller that she was pushing and looked for all in the world as if she was ready to leave to head back home.

"Kira, you can't be finished already. We just got here," Daisy said in an exasperated voice.

"I don't need to get much. Figured this would do for a while." Kira leaned against a rack while she waited for the other women to choose what they wanted for their own children.

"Needing ain't the point, Kira. You don't go shopping just because you need something. You go shopping to enjoy the day with friends and see what you might want."

"No, Daisy. You come shopping to enjoy it. I do it because I have to." Kira then added with a softer voice, "But I do it with you because I love you. So go ahead and keep shopping. I'll be alright."

Daisy and Jo exchanged glances before they turned back to their shopping with smiles on their faces. Jo chose a few new outfits for Faith while Daisy did the same for Jimmy. Daisy then mentioned that she needed to get a few outfits for when she planned to return to work. At the mention of the new clothes she swore she heard her cousin bite back a groan. Daisy grinned as she led the other women to the women's department of the store before she reached out and grabbed a pair of pants that she thought would fit her cousin.

"And I'm not the only one who could use a few new things. You've been wearing those pants since you gave birth and they are getting too loose. I think we all could use a new outfit or two."

Jo laughed when she saw the other woman role her eyes at Daisy. She then started looking for clothes for herself as well. Maybe just one or two outfits wouldn't hurt.

~01~

Daisy looked in the mirror as she finished getting ready for work. She knew that her figure would take a while to get back to the way it had been but she was still quite proud of the way her new jean shorts and top looked on her. They weren't as short as she used to wear out to the bar but for some reason she just didn't feel like it was right to wear them anymore. Still, she looked good, even if she did say so herself.

After slipping on her strappy sandals she walked across the hall to the nursery and got Jimmy ready to drop off with Kira. Jesse was keeping watch over the men while they were harvesting the cotton although he'd told Daisy that the others could manage without him. Instead, Kira had insisted that she could handle one more baby over at the house with no problem. She'd taken care of the twins for almost three years so taking care of the two infants wouldn't be that difficult for her. In fact, she'd seemed a bit insulted when Jesse tried to arrange his schedule so that Kira wouldn't have to take care of four children on her own.

Jo did tell Daisy that she'd check in with Kira to make sure that she wasn't in over her head and she did point out that Daisy would only be gone for a few hours over the lunch shift for her first day. Boss had agreed to let Daisy ease back into her job, reluctantly, so for the first week or so she'd only work the lunch shifts. With most of the locals busy with bringing in their harvests, lunch wouldn't be all that busy either.

Daisy did one last check to make sure that she had everything that she needed before she loaded Jimmy up in his car seat and headed next door. She went inside and found the twins running through the house chasing one another in delight.

"Mornin', you two." Daisy giggled as she watched the boys run toward the dining room where the table and chairs were supporting blankets that had been set up like a fort. "Kira, where are you?"

"Under here." When Kira crawled out from under the table Daisy had to laugh.

"What are you doin' under there?"

"Playin'." Kira said straight forward with a smile. "The boys and I were spendin' the mornin' together while Crystal was takin' her nap. Speakin' of which, looks like Jimmy is wide awake. I've got the playpen in the livin' room for him all set up."

"Thanks. Yep, I don't think he'll be ready for another nap for a few hours. You sure this will be okay?"

"I'm sure, Daisy. I'll be fine; Jimmy will be fine. Don't worry so much."

"I know. I just wanted to make sure. He's just so little and you're a bit outnumbered here." Daisy walked over to the couch in the living room and held her son in her lap as she rested her cheek on the top of his head.

"Jo's coming out after lunch with some finger paints and we're goin' to let the kids make some pictures for Halloween. So don't be surprised to see the boys painted orange when you get back."

"Just so long as Jimmy isn't painted like a pumpkin, too."

"Don't give the boys any ideas," Kira winked as she nodded to the boys. "Although at least you wouldn't have to worry about his first costume for Halloween."

"Not funny."

"Don't worry, Jimmy will be fine but you may not be if you are late on your first day back to the bar." Kira walked over toward her cousin and held out her hands for the infant as she spoke. She knew that despite her wanting to return to work, Daisy still wasn't as looking forward to leaving her son alone without her. Wanting to be out and about with others from the town and wanting to leave her child were two totally different things. Something that Kira could appreciate.

Daisy hugged her son to herself for a few moments before handing him over to her cousin. She stood and thanked Kira for watching Jimmy before she headed back out to her Jeep. Sitting behind the wheel, she wiped a single tear out of her eyes as she cranked the engine up to head to town. She knew that her baby would be alright without her but it wouldn't be the same as staying with him, herself.

~01~

Daisy bade some truckers goodbye as she started to clear the table that they'd been eating at and smiled and chatted with others at the nearby tables as she did so. She pocketed her tips and wiped down the counter as she walked back to tell the bartender that a group at another set of tables wanted another round of beers. Even after a little more than two months away waiting her tables still felt as natural and easy as breathing.

When she entered the later part of her shift, she was greeted by the sight of Enos walking into the bar for a late lunch. She'd not seen much of him during her time away from the old roadhouse but she knew that he had been out fishing with her cousins several times in the last couple of months. Daisy knew that Enos was the reason that Ted Wright had been stopped. If it hadn't been for her old friend, not only would she have buried her husband but her cousin as well. It had taken time for anyone to tell her what had happened over at the cabin after she'd buried Darcy but once they did, she knew she the family owed the deputy a great debt of gratitude.

Daisy took over Enos's lunch as she decided to take a short break and sat across from him. "Hey, Enos. I didn't think that you'd make it here before we closed after lunch. Rosco been keepin' ya out on one of the old speed traps?"

"Out near the old mill works. I swear, a person can break the new speed limits out there without even turnin' their cars on. I don't see how folks can go down that steep road only goin' ten miles an hour."

"Well, ain't nothin' sayin' that you have to face your car toward the road to see folks coastin' down the road, now is there?" Daisy grinned as she spoke.

"You want me to neglect my duty as a sworn officer of the law?" Enos looked horrified at the suggestion.

"Enos, it's your duty to carry out just laws. How are sittin' out at those speed traps where there is no way to drive slow enough to go by legally, just?"

Enos looked down at his sandwich that Daisy had brought him since he didn't like the speed traps any better than anyone else.

"Rosco and Boss wouldn't be happy if I just let folks go without stoppin' them. Rosco is the sheriff and Boss is, well, Boss."

"So let them not be happy. They both know they need you around. The whole county knows who really keeps law and order around here."

"Daisy, that's might nice of you to say but-"

"But nothin'. Just think about it. Now you eat and I have to get back to work."

Daisy then stood and went back to work. She only had a half hour left before her shift ended and she still had to clean the dishes in the kitchen. All in all, it hadn't been a bad day at work.

~01~

Luke walked in the house and busted out laughing when he saw Jo holding on to Faith at the kitchen counter. His daughter had blue paint all in her hair and she wasn't the only one. Jo's own blond hair was streaked with paints of various shades while she had hand prints all over her shirt as well.

"What happened to you two?"

"We were over with Kira and the twins playing with some finger paints. Weren't we, Faith?" Jo took a wash cloth and did her best to clean her daughter's face as she giggled.

"How did it get all up in her hair, not to mention yours?"

"She was having fun painting her pictures. When she saw Jay fling some at Mikey she had to join in with the fun, too. It's a good thing that we had the kids outside. Otherwise the kitchen would have been a total mess."

"Here, let me get Faith. You look like you need a bit of time to yourself to get cleaned up." Luke took the toddler from his wife and figured that the only way to get her clean was to go ahead and put her in the bath tub before supper. Then maybe afterwards she'd be ready to play in her playpen for a while before bed.

"Thanks." Jo followed as she then filled Luke in on the various news of the day; from Daisy's first day back to work to Kira's caring for a house full of kids.

Luke chuckled as he was told of the events of the day since he'd never had imagined his cousin being the one to run a house full of children when she'd first come to town. He would have liked to have seen Kira crawling around on the floor with the boys and then helping them with their paintings. She had certainly changed in the last few years.

"Well, once the harvest is all in, we'll have to see if we can get you fellas to keep the kids. Then you men can wind up covered in paint."

"That almost sounds like a threat."

"Now what makes you say that?" Jo smiled as she headed off for a shower while Luke took Faith toward the other bathroom to give her a bath. Kira wasn't the only one who had changed in recent years.


	41. Chapter 41

Daisy glanced at the clock and was pleasantly surprised that once more she had woke up before Jimmy. He'd been sleeping just a bit later in the mornings lately which had in turn allowed her to get more sleep for herself as well. Something that she definitely appreciated since she'd been working more and more of the late shifts out at the Boar's Nest lately. The tips were always better in the evenings which was why she chose to work so many of them lately. Jimmy was growing fast and the money she got from the tips certainly came in handy. As the months have gone by the generous tips from some of the town's folk who had wanted to help her after becoming widowed had begun to dwindle little by little now that Darcy's death wasn't quite so fresh on their minds since that terrible day out at the clinic in town was nearly six months in the past. The rest of the people of Hazzard may have been able to forget about the events of that day but the Dukes hadn't.

Daisy knew that she wasn't the only one who was still affected by Ted Wright's visit to town; Kim was, too. In fact, even though no one talked about it, Daisy knew that she was still seeing the psychologist out at the hospital at least once a week. The appointments must have been helping since about a month back Kim had started working out at the clinic again. It was only once a week but it was a start. The thing was, the first day hadn't been planned. Doc Appleby had gotten sick and while he'd had Sue rescheduled all of the appointments that could be there were some patients that just couldn't wait. As hard as Daisy was sure that it had been Kim took it upon herself to see to their treatment that day.

The rest of the family had tried to make it easier for her by stopping by and keeping her company between patients; even Rosco had been seen in the clinic. He'd sworn that he was just in to get some liniment for his shoulder to help with the cooler nights but Daisy knew better. He really did have a soft spot for the Duke Women; he just wouldn't admit it. As a result, Kim had very little time to reflect on the last day she'd worked out at the clinic back in the spring and the events that had occurred then. Afterwards, Daisy knew that Bo had taken his wife to a small roadhouse out of town to help her unwind. The same one that they always went to when they wanted just a bit more privacy than the one in Hazzard afforded them.

As Daisy walked into the nursery she grinned to herself as she thought about her cousin and how protective he was of his wife. If she could only go back in time and tell her younger self that her playboy of a cousin would be tamed by the unpopular, plain, bookish girl whom he couldn't stand in school. She was sure that she would never have believed it though.

When Daisy reached the crib she saw that Jimmy was already awake and gnawing on his fist. When he saw her standing over him he grinned and kicked and flailed his arms about in excitement.

"Well I see you are awake after all. You just figured you'd wait until I came on in for you, though. Huh?" Daisy picked her son up and changed him before taking him with her down to the kitchen. When she got kitchen where a bassinet was sitting next to her place at the table Jesse looked up from making breakfast in surprise.

"I didn't think you two were awake yet. I didn't hear you get up."

"Jimmy decided to just hang out until I was ready to come get him this morning. Got to love a happy baby."

After putting Jimmy in the bassinet she got a bottle ready for him and went ahead and started feeding him while Jesse cooked their breakfast. It would be the last one for a few days where it would just be the three of them since folks would start to show up for Thanksgiving later in the day. By the end of the week the entire house would be full of family members; many of whom hadn't been to Hazzard in a year and of those who had it had been for Darcy's funeral when they had been in town last. In any case, Daisy knew that she could expect more condolences from those whom she hadn't seen in months.

She knew that the meant well but she wasn't really ready to make that wound fresh once more after it had finally started to heal slowly. She'd never be over Darcy's murder but there were some days that she'd not even think about it until she crawled into her empty bed at night and very briefly would reach out for him as she prepared to go to sleep. That or she'd look into Jimmy's face and see his father staring back at her. Even if it was just for a brief second. That was probably the reason why she asked Boss to schedule her in for a few extra shifts while the family was in town. She knew that Jimmy would be well taken care of between her uncle and her cousins so she didn't have to worry about him.

Jesse finished fixing breakfast just as Jimmy finished his bottle. He took him from Daisy so she could eat and burped the baby. He knew that the others would be over later in the day to start setting up for the onslaught of family coming in for the holiday so he decided to enjoy a quiet moment while he could. In no time at all he'd be hard pressed to find another one for a few days.

~01~

Jesse watched as his kids all prepared for the first Thanksgiving in the new house. This year they had both a lot of things to be thankful for as well as things that the family wished hadn't have happened. The family had two new babies on the farm but they had also buried the father of one of those babies. Not only that, but there had nearly been two other funerals; one for Kim after Ted Wright had left her for dead and then one for Kira after she nearly died in childbirth.

As Jesse headed down to the root cellar to get some canned food that would be needed while the rest of the Duke family would be in town for the holiday he continued to think about how his family had changed in recent years. True, life hadn't been the same since Bo had first found that envelope that had been kept hidden for years but it wasn't just because that had led him to bring Kira home at long last. Both of his boys, Bo and Luke, had matured in ways that he'd given up on a long time. Perhaps he hadn't given his boys enough credit when they were younger.

His boys had turned out to be fine men. Both had found them wives who could put up with their sometimes childish behavior not to mention their unusual relationship with the local law. In addition, Luke now had a pretty little girl who Jesse hoped would be the first of many children. A secret part of Jesse sort of hoped that he'd have a son to give him just as many gray hairs as Luke and Bo had worked together to give him. Of course Luke might earn his own fair share once his daughter got old enough to turn a few heads like he was sure she would.

His only regret was that Bo wouldn't be fortunate enough to know the same kind of frustration that his cousin would be facing in a few years. With Kim unable to bear children he wouldn't know what it was like to be a father. As it was, the couple cared for the children in the family as if they were their own; and there were quite a few of them at that. Five children under the age of three living on the Duke Land made the farm look just like it had more than sixty years ago when Jesse's brothers were all running around.

He could already picture the oldest of the Duke Children leading the others into one misadventure or another. Of course Mikey would be at the head of the pack with no fear whatsoever when it came to the consequences of his actions. He reminded him a lot of himself when he was younger; back before he'd met Lavinia, of course. Jesse chuckled to himself since he'd never admit that he'd been more than a bit of a handful himself when he was younger.

After finding the cans of food that he needed from the root cellar Jesse headed back up to the main part of the house only to be greeted by the sound of Faith screaming out happily as she took slow and unsteady steps as she attempted to follow the twins through the house. When she fell back on her bottom Jay stopped and helped her back up before he once more joined his brother as they led Faith from one room to another. Once the three were back in the living room the boys stopped running and let her catch them much to her delight.

In the corner Jimmy was in the playpen out of the way where he could still look out as the other Duke Children played. Earlier Bo had set up the living room with blankets and pillows to give the kids a fort to hide from the adults in which all three enjoyed crawling through and peeking out of when they heard any adults nearby. By looking at both Faith and Jay, Jesse had the feeling that if Mikey didn't keep them moving, each of them would end up curled up with a pillow before long. Of course Mikey would try to hold out for as long as possible before he, too, would eventually join them.

Jesse made it back into the kitchen where Jo and Kim were both going over the list of the food that they needed to have ready to prepare for the big family meal in only a few days' time. Kira was nursing Crystal up in the nursery and hoped to put her down for a nap before joining the rest of the family downstairs. With the food that Jesse had brought up from the cellar the small cooking committee decided that they had all that they'd need for the next few days.

The particular foods that Jesse had gone to collect had actually been some that Jo had canned now that she had finally gotten the hang of home canning. With each new batch that the woman helped with Jo had sent at least one jar to her father up in D.C. to show off her new skill; something that she had become increasingly proud of. With the last batch Jesse hadn't even known that she was ready to start until he'd shown up at the house to help her only to learn that she was pulling the last jar out of the pot. She'd done it completely on her own as if she'd grown up on the farm canning all of her life. She was certainly a much more of a natural than Kira had been when he'd tried to teach her. Still, each of the women seemed to find their own niche; even if Kira's wasn't in the garden or canning the proceeds from it.

After leaving the women to finish the plans for the food he went out to sit on the porch swing to enjoy the fall day. On his way out he'd seen that his prediction of the children falling by the wayside had been accurate. Peeking under a blanket he saw Jay lying back on a pillow sound asleep with Faith curled up next to him. Mikey, on the other hand, had tried to stay awake by talking to his baby cousin. He was now face down on the floor in front of the playpen where Jimmy was still wide awake and gnawing some toys that had been left in there for him. Jesse smiled knowing that the oldest of the children had done his best to not take a nap since he was always so afraid that he'd miss something while he was asleep. That boy was so much like his daddy at that age.

Already Jebb had told the rest of the family that the two year old had been caught climbing around in the hay loft over at the other farm. Something that hadn't exactly set very well with Kira when she'd called the boys in from playing out in the yard after feeding Crystal only to learn that both were in the barn alone. Jay had actually been at the bottom of the latter and had looked as if he was trying to decide if he wanted to join his more adventurous brother when his mother found the boys. Ever since that day Jebb had taken to keeping a bit more hay beneath the loft since he knew that the day would come when one or both of his Duke Boys would decide to push their luck and jump down. He'd just figured they'd be a bit older before he'd have to start worrying about that. Jesse told him that he might want to remove the latter altogether for the time being. It'd buy him a little bit of time before Mikey could figure out how to climb up into the loft on his own.

Out in the farmyard, Jesse saw his boys all setting up tables and chairs for the family members who should be in before suppertime. From his place on the swing he could hear laughter and joking that reminded him of himself and his brothers thirty years ago. So caught up in his own thoughts he almost didn't hear one of his nephews call to him.

"Uncle Jesse, you and pop still plan on slinging a bit of chow at one another tonight?" Jebb asked as he referred to the Third Annual Duke Family Food Fight.

The first had been while Kira was still pregnant and Jebb had started it as a way to relieve some of the tension from a long and stress filled week after she'd gone into labor. It was only after John and then Jesse joined in that the rest of the family had thrown themselves into the food fight; much to his mother's displeasure. The next year it had been suggested that if the Duke Men insisted on acting like children then perhaps they should do so before the main meal that took the women so long to prepare. So the night before Luke and Jo came in and announced their engagement the farm had erupted in a food fight once more. It had been held over at Jebb and Kira's since the fight was their idea in the first place. As such, they were responsible for cleaning it up.

Granted, they'd skipped last year but that was only because the men were giving Bo a bachelor party instead. Now Jebb figured that the family could once more use an excuse to have a little fun. The year had been hard on everyone yet they still had much to be thankful for. So what if having a food fight was little less traditional. This year he knew that his own sons would be old enough to join in the fun. He hoped to have a camera set up so that he could record their first ever food fight.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. In fact, John, Abner and I plan to take you three on and teach you a few things."

"You're forgetting something, Uncle Jesse," Bo chuckled since he still had a hard time believing that his stern yet lovable uncle had come to look forward to the food fights nearly as much as the rest of them had.

"And what's that, Bo?"

"We got the women to help us."

"You sure that they plan to help you or us?" Jesse laughed since he couldn't wait to see the women throw themselves into the fun as well. "Especially Kira. I think I heard her saying that she needed to get back at you for showing the boys a few things last week."

"Bo, you're dead," Jebb snickered.

"Too bad the general isn't coming in tonight," Luke joined in. "I'd love to see Jo toss a few spoonfuls of food at him; just to see the look on his face."

"Maybe next time." Bo couldn't help but laugh harder as he imagined the Marine General joining in with a free for all. Between the Dukes in Hazzard and all of the new in-laws, he figured that it would be the general that would have the best strategy when it came to war, even if it was only with flinging food.

"What's on the menu tonight?" Luke asked as he tried to imagine his father-in-law joining in on the food fight that had become a recent family tradition.

"Spagetti," Jebb said with an evil glit to his eyes. He was already imagining the messy noodles in his mother's hair since he was bound and determined to get his mother with them. In his opinion, nothing could be more satisfying than if he could get his mother to join in with the fun. And eventually he would get her to join in one way or the other.

Jesse saw the look in each of his nephews eyes and could see that the night's activity was bound to be one of the most memorable. After all, you couldn't be a Duke in Hazzard without giving into a bit of mischief from time to time. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

_**The End**_


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